All-party meet on Telangana agree for peace and harmony as a first step

The all-party meeting on Telangana convened by Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday in New Delhi ended without making any immediate breakthrough.

However, the leaders of all political parties appealed for maintaining peace, harmony and law order in Andhra Pradesh, which has seen much strife and violence over the carving out of a separate Telangana state.

Representatives of 8 recognized political parties of Andhra Pradesh who attended the meeting, in a joint statement issued at the end of the meeting, said: “We have expressed our views at the meeting and they have been noted by the Central government. Meanwhile, it is our earnest appeal that peace, harmony and law and order should be maintained in the state."

But as party leaders emerged from the meeting, it was clear that they were no closer to a consensus on the separate statehood issue than they had been when they walked in.

After the meeting Mr. Chidambaram said he would convey the views of leaders to the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and consult his cabinet colleagues.

In his opening statement the Home Minister said the agenda was to "deliberate on the mechanism and lay down a road map for the consultations".

He urged each of the political parties represented there to show accommodation and goodwill. “Ultimately you must find the answers and you must help the central government find a solution," he said.

The Home Minister said though the agenda for the meeting may appear limited he was confident that "if we take one step at a time we will, eventually, find a solution".

Apparently hinting at Maoists, he said "I wish to caution all political parties that there are forces waiting on the wings who ridicule parliamentary form of democracy and who would be happy if we collectively fail to find answers to the issues that concern us and we should not give any room for these forces to gain strength or credence."

BJP state unit chief Bandaru Dattatreya said the UPA and the Congress party should make their stand clear on the Telangana issue. The BJP said there was no need for further consultations and the Centre should go ahead with Telangana. BJP spokesman Prakash Javdekar said: "We firmly support formation of Telangana. The Congress is creating confusion on this issue. They should clarify whether they support Telangana or not."

The TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao told reporters "we are waiting for the final response". Asked if he was satisfied with the meeting, he said "to some extent."

The Praja Rajyam chief Chiranjeevi said he had made clear his party's stand that it stood for a united Andhra Pradesh. "It is only the beginning of the process," he said without elaborating.

The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), which is against a separate Telangana state, said President's Rule should be imposed in Andhra Pradesh and a committee to discuss the issue further should be constituted.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah, TRS leader K Chandrashekhar Rao, actor-turned-politician and PRP leader Chiranjeevi and his associate C Ramachandraiah, K S Rao and Uttamkumar Reddy (both Cong) and Y Ramakrishna Du and R Prakash (both TDP) are among those who attended the meeting. Home Secretary G K Pillai was also part of the talks.

Meanwhile, Transport system across Andhra Pradesh was crippled on Tuesday giving a tough time to commuters as pro and anti Telangana agitators held road and train blockades in the state.

The Railways have cancelled 88 trains including 39 passenger trains as authorities feared railway property will be damaged if protesters try to stop trains.

The all-party Joint Action Committee campaigning for united Andhra Pradesh called for road and rail blockades in the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.

The students and other agitators held blockades in Telangana region in support of the demand for separate state.

- Asian Tribune -