Hyderabad: The movement for carving out a separate Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh is set to further intensify with activists at the vanguard of the agitation planning an Egypt-like protest in Hyderabad next month.
The Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) plans to mobilise five million people to lay siege to the city in the second week of March in what is seen as a final phase of the movement for separate state.
The JAC, which comprises activists of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other organisations, hopes that people from all 10 Telangana districts, including Hyderabad, would participate in the protest. The activists are demanding that the central government immediately initiate the process for delineating a separate state.
According to JAC convenor M. Kodandaram, the protestors would block roads and not leave until the central government agrees to form a separate state.
This is expected to be the biggest ever gathering for Telangana. The JAC is confident of a massive turnout as the movement has intensified across the region.
Buoyed by the huge public response to the two-day Telangana shutdown last week, the JAC plans to go all-out for achieving its goal.
Backing for state staff
Yesterday, the JAC began holding rallies to express solidarity with about 300,000 government employees who are continuing their non-cooperation movement since February 17. The rallies will continue today. Rejecting the government's appeal to call off the movement, the Telangana employees have also threatened to go on an indefinite strike after March 5.
