Issue of safeguards’ implementation for Telangana region
By Deepika Reddy
Hyderabad: This is in continuation to the last article on GO 36 which aimed to spread awareness on the need to form a separate Telangana State.
March 15, 1969
Important incidents of the day:
* The Telangana Rakshanala Samaikya Udyamam convened a meeting under the chairmanship of D Hanumanta Rao, president of Karimnagar Zilla Parishad.
This meeting was attended by thousands of people. Sadalaxmi gave the welcome speech and Padmanabham Sudhakar Rao, Laxmikanta Rao, Raghuveera Rao, Mallikarjun, Ashok Reddy, Arif Uddin and Shantabai participated in the convention. The meeting demanded for the resignation of the MLAs and other representatives of Telangana if the safeguards were not implemented by March 25, 1969.
* TPC decided to declare March 17 as democracy protection day (Prajaswamya Rakshana Dinotsavam).
* Proposal for extension of Mulki rules for another five years was introduction in Parliament.
* NG Ranga, an MP from Andhra, supported formation of Telangana and questioned as to why Telugu people cannot have two States when there are 4 to 5 Hindi-speaking States.
March 22, 1969
Two MPs from coastal Andhra – Chengala Raya Naidu and Komma Reddy Surya Narayana – issued a statement in Delhi stating that people from Andhra have no objection, if a separate Telangana State is created by the Centre.
March 23, 1969
The Chief Minister announced that a high-level committee would be appointed with Telangana ministers as members to safeguards the promises given to Telangana and temporary Additional Chief Secretary would be appointed from Telangana.
March 24, 1969
Abdul Kadri, a senior bureaucrat was appointed as additional CS on a temporary basis.
March 25, 1969
Telangana Peoples Convention was converted into Telangana Praja Samithi with Madan Mohan as its president and Venkat Ram Reddy as the chief secretary.
March 28, 1969
Important incidents of the day:
The Jamia Osmania Railway station was set on fire by a group of students. Nagam Janardan Reddy, a medical student, was a part of the group. Two students – Prakash Kumar of Garla in Khammam district and Sarva Reddy of Changanpally, Mahabubnagar district – died accidentally in this incident.
M Narayana Reddy, an MP from Nizamabad, requested the Lok Sabha Speaker to allow a discussion on the SC’s rejection of Mulki regulations. However, the Speaker Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy refused permission.
500 Andhra students attacked 70 Telangana students in the Regional Engineering College (REC), Warangal.
The Telangana regional committee rejected the report of Kumar Lalith.
April 2, 1969
Discussion on the ongoing agitation in Telangana region commenced in the Parliament.
Neelam Sanjeeva Reedy, speaker of Lok Sabha, also agreed in the house that the safeguards guaranteed to the Telangana region were not properly implemented.
April 3, 1969
The Nalgonda District Congress committee, in its meeting presided over by its president Thumala Laxma Reddy, passed a resolution condemning the demand for a separate Telangana State.
The Citizens union Association was formed with MP G Venkata Swamy as its president to fight against the demand for a separate Telangana State.
April 4, 1969
The CPI party organised a meeting in Burugu Mahadev hall in RP Road in which they favoured united AP and demanded the implementation of safeguards in Telangana region. The meeting was presided over by Satyanarayana Reddy a city party leader. Important leaders who participated in the meeting included Raja Bahadur Gour and Neelam Rajshekar Reddy.
In his speech, Satyanarayana Reddy opposed the idea of separate Telangana in reaction to which members supporting separate Telangana State were asked to leave the venue, which resulted in a clash between the two groups followed by police firing. This incident was considered as one of the most violent incidents during the agitation and a magisterial enquiry was ordered. Konda Laxman Bapuji later visited the place of the incident and undertook a one-day hunger strike on April 5 in protest of the incident.
To be continued…
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