Telangana took the Justice BN Srikrishna Committee report on statehood for the region in its stride on Thursday and was relatively calm.
The unrest and violence that had accompanied the statehood demand in 2010 was absent. No large-scale violence and suicide attempts, as feared, were reported.
However, in the Osmania University campus, the nerve centre of Telangana agitation, students clashed with paramilitary forces and set a few buses on fire. Police baton charged the agitators and fired teargas shells to control the situation.
Political parties, including the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), urged people not to resort to violence. TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao rejected the report but said the party would “give time to the Centre to act”.
As the contents of the report were made public, Pro-Telangana students from over 70 universities, mostly from Andhra Pradesh, who have camped in New Delhi lobbied with students of Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and political parties for their cause.
Osmania University student Rajan Reddy said, “They’re playing for time again, just as expected.” He added: “But that’s why we’re in Delhi. This moment is important, and we don’t intend to lose it.”
The students shouted slogans outside the Congress headquarters and the BJP office, where a BJP spokesperson reinforced the party’s position in favour of a separate Telangana.
{{/usCountry}}The students shouted slogans outside the Congress headquarters and the BJP office, where a BJP spokesperson reinforced the party’s position in favour of a separate Telangana.
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