Hyderabad, Feb 12 (Inditop.com) The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) has rejected the terms of reference announced by the central government Friday for the five-member Justice B.N. Srikrishna committee looking into the issue of statehood for Telangana.
TRS chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao, whose 11-day fast in December had forced the central government to announce that the process for formation of Telangana state would be initiated, said the terms were unacceptable to the people of Telangana.
“The centre has once again betrayed the people of Telangana. The terms of reference are not acceptable to us. We will continue the agitation and insist on acceptance of our resignations,” the MP from Mahabubnagar told reporters.
The all-party Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Telangana will hold an emergency meeting Friday evening to chalk outs its course of action.
The JAC, hoping that the panel’s terms would be to lay a roadmap for carving out Telangana state with a clear time-frame, said New Delhi’s announcement had disappointed them.
“How can the centre equate the demand for Telangana state with the demand for unified Andhra?” asked JAC convenor M. Kodandaram.
The panel has been asked to examine the demands of a separate state of Telangana as well as the demands for maintaining the present status of a united Andhra Pradesh.
A statement by the home ministry said that the committee would submit its report by Dec 31.
“Having a time-frame is no reason for accepting the terms of reference,” said Kodandaram.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Bandaru Dattatreya said the central government had once again put the Telangana issue in cold storage.
The Osmania University students’ JAC has also rejected the central government’s latest move. The student leaders said separate state could be achieved only through a struggle.
