TRS stalls Assembly

As their leader K. Chandrasekhara Rao's fast-unto-death entered the 10th day on Tuesday, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) legislators repeatedly stalled proceedings in the Andhra Pradesh assembly demanding a resolution on a separate state of Telangana.

Speaker Kiran Kumar Reddy had to adjourn the house twice as TRS legislators rushed to the podium after he rejected their adjournment motion. The TRS wanted the house to pass a resolution for a separate state of Telangana.

As soon as the house met for the day, TRS legislators were on their feet demanding that their adjournment motion be taken up and that an official resolution to carve out a separate Telangana state be moved.

Pandemonium prevailed in the house as TRS workers raised slogans of "Jai Telangana" and rushed towards the speaker's podium after he rejected the adjournment motion and tried to go ahead with the listed agenda.

Even after the speaker adjourned the house for 15 minutes, TRS legislators remained where they were raising slogans of "Jai Telangana". Ruling Congress party legislators from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions countered them with slogans of "Jai Andhra" and "Jai Rayalaseema" respectively.

After the house reassembled, TRS stuck to its demand while the other opposition parties supported it. Amid the din, the speaker adjourned the house for half-an-hour.

TRS, the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and all other parties except Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) are demanding that the house pass a resolution on Telangana while the ruling party said it would abide by the decision of its central leadership.

The parties expressed their views at an emergency all-party meeting convened by Chief Minister K. Rosaiah Monday night on the direction of Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The MIM sought two days to take a decision.

Congress Legislature Party (CLP), at its meeting last evening, authorised Sonia Gandhi to take a decision. Party legislators from three regions of the state expressed divergent views over the Telangana issue.

Rosaiah reported the outcome of both the meetings to Sonia Gandhi, who went into a huddle with senior party leaders like Pranab Mukherjee, Veerappa Moily and Ahmed Patel.

She is likely to take a decision Tuesday to resolve the ongoing Telangana agitation triggered by the TRS chief's indefinite hunger strike.

Meanwhile, after a 48-hour shutdown, life is returning to normal in Hyderabad and nine other districts of Telangana.

State-owned Road Transport Corporation (RTC) buses returned on the roads after two days while shops, business establishments and educational institutions have reopened.