By: Janardhan Janumpalli
Telangana March on 30th September, 2012 was a resplendent success. The people defied the tyranny of ‘andhra’government and have shown K K Reddy the CM and Dinesh Reddy the DGP their places. It was a resounding slap on the face of ‘andhra colonialists’ who were crowing that Telangana sentiment is waning from Parkal by-election. The March has clearly brought out the despotic rule of Andhra administration in Telangana. The autocratic methods like bind overs, preventive custodies, sieges, barbed wire fences, brutal assaults ,driving/whisking away people etc., of this Andhra regime puts to shame the draconian measures used in any totalitarian government. They have got cancelled 40 trains and all the buses that are coming in to Hyderabad city, to prevent people coming in to the city. Even private vehicles were seized and people were made to go back or whisked them away from entering in to the city. It is all done with the knowledge and active connivance of CM and DGP, with the precise purpose of defeating Telangana march.
This Andhra government was adopting such practices all through this decade old statehood struggle. But in the T-March it has exceeded all the limits. They have indulged in the blatant violation of their own publicly stated assurance. They did not respect the rulebook. They have not heeded to the appeals of civil society. They lacked the basic decency of respecting the democratic rights of Telangana people. Their reprehensible behavior has no parallel in Independent India. Yet, the people of Telangana braved all this and came all the way from all parts of Telangana, some more than 300 KM away. Made their way to ‘Sagara Haaram’ and stunned the two-faced government and the world at large. It was a magnificent exhibition of aspiration for freedom from oppression. All that needed, in a democratic government was permitting people to come freely in to the city and allowing them to march peacefully with a police bandobast with all the extended police force available at the disposal of the administration in the city. It would have been egalitarian; would have made known the real intent of people and would have upheld the democratic credentials of the government.But alas! It can never happen in this Andhra government.
The behavior of CM and DGP during the tumultuous hours of March makes one wonder whether we are in a democratic society. The CM tried to sleep while his police were harassing lakhs of people and refused to talk to T- MPs. They were taken in to police custody and kept in house arrest. He was also incommunicado with his Telangana ministers during the march and was not prepared to receive their opinions. The DGP undertook a helicopter survey of the mayhem supervising the brutalization of people. Or, is it the cloud seeding as suspected. The proposed foisting of cases on the organizers of the march and appointing a SIT to prosecute them is the height of their tyranny. The rabid fulminations of Lagadapati, prejudice of Kavuri, Rayapati etc., obscurantism of likes of Gade, TGV, Shailajanath etal on Telangana March explains it all. We do not know how long we have to suffer this xenophobia of Andhras.
The double speak and the double action of Central government since 9,December 2009 make us wonder, whether we Telangana people are an honorable part of Indian Union or an enclave of a vassal state inside it, with a circumscribed democracy. When it is made amply clear many a times that all the people of Telangana want the demerger of Telangana and common people of Seemandhra region also acquiescing on the demerger, why Central government is not implementing its declaration in Parliament. Calling KCR in the sly for discussions; procrastinating on it; their interlocutors making weird statements; making the deliberations look like a farce and allowing its proxy government in the state to coerce Telangana people in to subjugation, makes one wonder on the sanity of their politics.
It appears, a handful of black mailing corrupt-corporate-politicians and undemocratic oxy morons from andhra are more dear to Congress party than the aspirations of 4 crore Telangana people, the fact of systematic looting of Telangana and slave like loyalty of T-Congress .It is an ironic situation where the judge favors the oppressor. We cannot go on asking Telangana people to mobilize time and again in million marches to prove our abuse and our commitment to Telangana. The TJAC which has come of age by its successful organization of Telangana march now has to find some other effective ways to force the Central government to implement its declaration of Telangana State. Whatever be our humongous efforts, they did not yield result because our own people are passively sabotaging it, continuously with their cowardice and political stupidity. It will be politically prudent for our 70-80 strong T-legislators (Ministers, MPs, MLAs &MLCs) to come together to form a consolidated group to help the beleaguered Telangana people. Their sheep like loyalty to Sonia Gandhi without acting on the exigency will be a political hara-kiri for both their party and their own political future.
In fact Sonia Gandhi needs more help from these morons than Telangana people. The diabolic political game played by Andhra congress politicians in kahoots with Sonia’s coterie is about to decimate the congress party in the state. Sonia Gandhi has become a hostage to this unholy combine. If T-legislators come together and counter the black mail of Andhra congress they will be helping Sonia Gandhi to come out of this morass. They can fully regain congress party in Telangana and make Andhra congress to come around to stage come back in their region. It is a matter of political dexterity. If these emasculated lot who do not come out and help us and continue their tomfooleries, which is very likely the TJAC should turn on them. They should be coerced in a multipronged effort to make them fall in line. If not, they should be dislodged from their position by hook or crook as part of our campaign for statehood. For as long as these curs are there in power they will be the millstones around our neck. The congress party will use these eunuchs and continue their soap opera till 2014 and leave us in the political wilderness as usual.