All parties support TRS bandh call

• Educational institutions declare holiday, all exams cancelled
• Protests, dharna on OU campus
• Students express ire against T Cong leaders, burn effigies of Central Govt
• Medical JAC observes rasta roko
• TRS youth wing takes out bike rallies, stage dharna at martyrs memorial

Hyderabad: Stage is set for a total bandh in Telangana region on Thursday to oppose the move of the Centre to create Rayala Telangana. Following the bandh call given by TRS, all schools and educational institutions have already declared holiday. All examinations in Osmania University and Kakatiya University have been postponed. All political parties, various joint action committees including the TJAC and other organisations have extended their support to the bandh. As a precursor, dharnas and protests were organised across the region on Wednesday. Tension prevailed at Osmania University Campus, the epicentre of the Telangana statehood movement, on Wednesday, when the heavily-guarded police thwar- ted a rally sought to be taken out by the university students at the NCC Gate.

Scores of students took out a rally from Arts College to NCC Gate protesting against the reported proposal of the central government to carve out a Rayala-Telangana state and burnt the effigies of the Central government. Students expressed anger on Telangana Congress leaders Jaipal Reddy, Jana Reddy and Damodara Rajanarasimha, for their half-hearted response against the Rayala Telangana conspiracy. However, the police foiled the students march at the NCC Gate and this led to a scuffle between the students and the police.

The Telangana Information Technology Association (TITA) organised a bike rally from Cyber Towers to Kondapur on Wednesday. The IT employees participated in the rally. Talking to media, Sundeep Kumar Makthala, TITA president, said, “The Rayala Telangana proposal would directly affect the growth of IT industry in both Telangana and Rayalaseema.”

Opposing the Centre’s proposal for Rayala Telangana, Medical Joint Action Committee (JAC), and Gandhi Hospital held one-hour rasta roko in front of Gandhi Hospital on Wednesday. Speaking on the occasion Dr Ramesh, president, Medical JAC, said that Telangana people wanted T state which consists of 10 districts and not Rayala Telangana, they said. TRS, its student and youth wings, held dharnas and bike rallies in the city protesting against the Centre’s reported decision to carve out Rayala Telangana. They demanded that the CWC resolution and the Union cabinet’s decision should be implemented in toto. Activists of the TRS student’s wing gathered at Telangana martyrs memorial at Gun Park in the morning and staged a sit-in near the manorial. The TRS senior leader and MLA, KT Rama Rao, also joined the dharna. KTR alleged that the Seemandhra capitalists lobbied strongly at the Centre and mooted the proposal of Rayala Telangana to protect their business and political interests. He blamed the Centre for considering the Rayala Telangana demand from the leaders of the two districts of Rayalaseema. “We are hell bent to achieve only 10 districts of Telangana state,” he added.

TJAC chairman Prof Kodandaram said that if necessary they would organise Chalo Assembly to force the Centre to withdraw any proposal to dilute the CWC resolution. The BJP state president G Kishan Reddy, TDP leaders E Dayakar Rao and M Narsimhulu, CPI state secretary K Narayana and others also extended their support to the bandh call given by TRS.