(Courtesy Deccan Post)
(Download a PDF file here: Full Text of Leaked Srikrishna Committee 8th Chapter
Here are the highlights of the damning Chapter 8 that will make you wonder if India is still a democracy
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE (OF JUSTICE SRIKRISHNA COMMITTEE ON TELANGANA)
a) Political Management:
( i) There is a need for ensuring unity among the leaders of the ruling party in the State. There is also a need for providing strong and firm political leadership and placement of representatives of Telangana in key positions ( may be CM / Dy.CM) ( Since done). This aspect was discussed with FM & HM in September 2010. Action also needs to be initiated for softening the TRS to extent possible, especially in the context of the fact that TRS has threatened to launch a civil disobedience movement after December 31 and also initiate a ‘ Maha Yuddam’ ( a Massive war) if Centre does not announce a Separate Telangana. Gaddar’s TPF ( Telangana Praja Front) who had parted company with TRS have again joined hands with TRS. Inputs indicate that this agitation can be tackled if Telangana Congress leaders do not give an impression indicating any covert/ over support to it. Hence the Telangana Congress MPs / MLAs need to be taken into confidence and asked not to lend any form of support to the agitation. The Congress High Command must sensitize its own MPS and MLAs and educate them about the wisdom for arriving at an acceptable and workable solution. With the ruling party and also the main opposition party ( the TDP run by Chandra Babu) must be brought on the same page, the support mechanisms have a higher probability of becoming successful. The TDP must be advised not to participate in any further meetings that would be called by the Centre.
This could be an effective stumbling block for any meaningful dialogue on resolving the Telangana demand.
The Andhra Congress MPs belonging to Kamma caste must be encouraged to work in tandem with TDP leadership which is now caught in a bad shape.
( ii) Further, on receipt of the Committee’s Report by the Government, a general message should be conveyed amongst the people of the State that Centre will be open for detailed discussions on the recommendations / options of the Report with the concerned leaders / stakeholders either directly or through a Group of Ministers or through important interlocutors and that this process will start at the earliest. But every method must be adopted to avoid giving finality to any discussions to drag on the matter until the agitation is totally brought under control.
(c) Media Management:
( i) Andhra Pradesh has got about 13 Electronic Channels and 5 major local Newspapers which are in the forefront of molding the public opinion. Except for two Channels ( Raj News & HMTV), the rest of them are supporters of a united Andhra Pradesh. The equity holders of the channels except the above two and the entire Print Media are with the Seemandhra people. The main editors/ resident and subeditors, the Film world etc. are dominated by Seemandhra people. A coordinated action on their part has the potential of shaping the perception of the common man. However, the beat journalists in the respective regions are locals and are likely to capture only those events/ news which reflect the regional sentiments. This can be tackled by the owners of the media houses by systematically replacing the local journalists by those from Seemandhra wherever it is possible.
( ii) Hyderabad city which is expected to be the center of most of the agitations is generally covered by those journalists who are votaries of a separate Telangana. Hence a lot of media hype on the Osmania University Students agitation, self- immolations etc. may be created. Therefore, media management assumes critical importance to ensure that only the reality is projected and no unnecessary hype is created. In the immediate past, it is observed that the media coverage on the issue has shown a declining trend resulting in a lower intensity of the agitation. Each of the media houses are affiliated to different political parties. In the Print Media all major newspapers are owned by Seemandhra people and the Regional contents published by them play a vital role. Most of the editors except Andhra Jyothi are pro- united A. P. However, similar to the electronic channels, the print media have also got political affiliations. The editorial opinions, the banner headlines, the Regional content, the District editions need to be managed to be realistic and should give only due coverage to the separate Telangana agitations. The print media is hugely dependent on the Government for advertisement revenue and if carefully handled can be an effective tool to achieve this goal.
However, the RTI Act may prove to be an impediment for the Government to deny due share of ads to publications supporting the Telangana demand.
( iii) In concrete terms, it needs to be particularly ensured that media does not: ( a) Create a Psychosis of fear amongst the public ( b) Indulge in general and baseless speculations that can create unnecessary hype of any kind ( c) Arouse communal passions ( d) Show old and irrelevant clippings of violence / violent agitations etc.
For this purpose necessary prohibitory orders under appropriate provisions of law can be issued in advance.
( d) Full Preparedness
( i) As under each of the options there is a high possibility of agitational backlash, notwithstanding the actions taken in advance as suggested in ( a) and ( b) above, an appropriate plan of deployment grid of police force ( both Central and State) with full technical support needs to be immediately drawn up. Advance preparedness in this regard would go a long way in containing the law and order situation and minimize destruction of lives and property.
It would also be necessary to have a mechanism for monitoring the situation and collection of real time intelligence with a view to ensure taking up of effective advance action to preempt any break of violence in the potentially troubled spots. The likely troubled spots ( e. g.
Osmania, Kakatia, Krishna Devraya Universities etc.) and the trouble creators in the three regions must be identified in advance and suitable action plan prepared. In my discussions with Chief Secretary and DGP, the kind of equipment and weaponry to be used were also discussed and it was agreed that weaponry used should be such as not to cause fatal injuries, while at the same time effective enough to bring the agitationists quickly under control.
In a nutshell it may be concluded that the first couple of months will be critical after the submission of the Report, as speculative stories will thrive and emotions of people incited.