Rumour mills are working overtime.
The story doing the rounds is that the division of Andhra Pradesh is imminent.
There are several variants to the story, depending on from whom you hear it. But the main theme runs like this:
Sonia Gandhi has taken a decision to divide Andhra Pradesh.
The basis for this decision is the parting advice given by Gulam Nabi Azad who, until about a few days ago, was in charge of congress affairs in the state. He is believed to have given her the following formula: divide the state in such a way that the two parts will have 21 Lok Sabha seats each. That would mean adding two Rayalaseema districts – Anantapur and Kurnool – to the Telangana districts to form a state with Hyderabad as its capital.
Azad’s formula is supposedly a political master stroke, these rumour mongers will want us to believe. It would in one shot finish off KCR and TRS in Telangana and also undermine the strength of Jagan Reddy by distributing his regional base between two states. Congress will, in the process, gain considerably in Telangana region as the ‘giver’ of Telangana, and because of weakening of Jagan, will also be in the reckoning in the Coastal and Rayalaseema regions in the 2014 elections.
This, according to rumours, is the basis for the Congress decision to divide the state.
Some mills added a bit of spice to the story. They say that the TRS chief is completely sidelined in this saga. It is Prof Kodandaram, the chairman of T-JAC, who was taken into confidence and Rahul Gandhi supposedly had an hour long chat with him on the proposal to divide the state.
Some divine that the 30 June public meeting organised by the Congress leaders in Hyderabad was done at the behest of their high command. The intention of the central leadership is to position the Telangana congress leaders to take credit for the creation of a separate state of Telangana. Some others say it was not the high command which directly asked them to hold the rally, but told Jaipal Reddy who in turn told his camp follower Jana Reddy to organise the show. The rally ensured, our mills suggest, that the credit for dividing the state would go to Congress and not to the TRS.
Sonia Gandhi’s refusal to meet the AP Chief Minister Kiran Reddy during his recent trip to Delhi is a loud enough indication that in her mind the state is already divided, these rumour mills aver.
These mills tell us that the political leaders from the coastal area are silenced with the promise of hefty civil works contracts to build a new capital for the other residual state. The real estate boom that’s likely in the event of division in the coastal districts will mitigate the opposition from the general public, these rumours want us to believe. It seems the centre has already bought the consent of Rayalaseema leaders who matter for the division of their region, the purveyors of these rumours have come to know for sure.
Rumour mills have a way of ensuring that a small escape route is available in the very likely eventuality of their stories not coming true. In this case, however, the escape route actually lends some nail biting suspense to the narration.
Although Sonia Gandhi decided to divide the state and in this project she had the backing of Chidambaram, Azad, and Moily, the plan has formidable opposition. The decision is not going to be easy, they caution. The rumour mills want us to believe that Anthony, Digvijaya Singh, the Prime Minister, and even Rahul Gandhi are dead set against the division plan. President Pranab Babu is also not in favour of division.
This, therefore, is a cliff hanger. There would be a car chase, a shoot out, and a heavy pumping of adrenaline before the climax is unveiled. These rumour mills promise us.
In Gandhi Bhavan, in NTR Trust Building, and in TRS Bhavan, this or some variant of this is the topic of conversation. News papers run stories along these lines. TV channels busy themselves collecting talking heads to discuss this, and as the tempo of the shows build the panelists shout and get at each other’s collars to provide some serious comedy to the viewers.
The agenda for political discourse in Andhra Pradesh is set for at least the next ten days.
Serious matters of policy with far reaching and grave consequences to our Republic are thus subjected to mindless rumour mills and comic commentaries.
Enjoy this circus until they dish out another one. Till recently this sort of comedy was provided by the TRS chief. Now it seems it is the turn of the Congress leaders and some media outfits to entertain us and give us our daily dose of stimulants.
Don’t be anxious. There’s no danger to the unity of Andhra Pradesh.
Another drama by the Congress party. Keep watching the thamsha on the TV.
One glaring point was noticed after the meet between OU JAC leaders and Digvijay Singh..the two top most points supposedly mentioned by the JAC leaders in support of their stand were 1) suicides 2)eventual benefit to the congress party!.Can these be the basis of bifurcation?
Hope this issue is brought to a closure soon. One way or the other all of us must accept it and live peacefully…
There are many logical factors that are against division.
Still the issue is పిచ్చోడి చేతిలో రాయి!
Or we say వెర్రిదాని చేతిలోవెలగపండు!
AP will be surely divided into 2 or 3 cake pieces by the mother goddess from Italy…
I think Rayala Seema and Coastal Andhra should ask for a package of 5 Lakh crores from Hyderabad revenue over next 10 years to build new states. Reconstruction is needed in Rayala Seema and Coastal Andhra.
If we can get packages for andhra and seema from the center then it will be a win-win for all the regions.
The politicians, particularly from the Andhra region, will be very happy with packages, since they will be the beneficiaries of the package. If separate Telangana happens with a package for Andhra, the non-Telangana people will lose it in every which way.
the strategy has been "bicker amongst yourselves while we milch the cow (in this case natural resources).
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/telangana-looks-certain/article4928690.ece?homepage=true
http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-its-just-a-matter-of-time-for-telangana-to-become-a-reality/20130719.htm
The above links tell me why Dr. Parakala could not succeed in politics even though he comes from a strong political background. His Mistake? HE THINKS RATIONALLY, LOGICALLY (a side effect of his education, I guess). But they do not apply to politics. He thought Chiranjeevi Praja Rajyam Party was a poisonous tree (Visha Vruksham). But Dr. Parakala could never guess that the poisonous tree was Kalpa Vruksham to Congress. Chiranjeevi with just 18 or so seats became the darling of the Congress Party which rewarded him with a RS seat and a Minister position.
Many of us thought that Rayala Telangana was brought to the fore to confuse people. Without Rayala Telangana, the AP state would have been split into three states inviting other troubles. By splitting the state into two, many obstacles are removed.
1) MIM will agree for the separation now. In a 10 district Telangana state, their strength would have been reduced. They wanted the muslims in Kurnool and Ananthapur to be included in the new state so that their strength is maintained.
2) TRS is now neutralized. TRS was hoping that Congress would not give Telangana and they could win majority seats here controlling the next govt. Now, they become a partner with no teeth.
3) Jagan is now neutralized. With the division of Rayala Seema areas, into two states, Jagan factor is no more threatening.
4) Chandra Babu Naidu is marginalized. CBN was hoping that it would do him a great deal by sitting on the fence. He was convinced that Congress would not split the state. Sorry! Na Ghar ke, Na Ghaat Ke.
5) After the separation, the Reddy domination in the Andhra state is expected to be minimal while the Kapus become dominant. The Kammas are any way expected to support Chandra Babu Naidu. Chiranjeevi is then expected to lead with the support of the Kapus.
NOW WE KNOW WHAT THE CONSULTATIONS WERE ABOUT. NATURALLY IT TOOK SO MANY MONTHS TO COME TO THIS FORMULA.
OF COURSE, NORMAL PEOPLE ARE STUPID AND FOOLISH! WHY SHOULD ANY ONE CARE FOR THESE STUPID PEOPLE?
AMRAO,
Nothing of this is unexpected. It was part of the larger plan by Congress. It appears the process was delayed due to opposition from major investors. Now that madamji is working left of center, these investors do not matter. Someone may say sour grapes but I feel division is the only solution. Especially after seeing report of Dy CM in news papers. Being DY CM he could had shown some respect for people of other regions. The report was in same tone as separatists. He could tried to gather and present more authentic statistics. But he chose to present the same lies spread over the years. CM proposed a package for T whereas Botcha proposed a middle path in case of division. But Dy CM offered no soultion as though division will have no impact on others.
Besided all these it is a punishment to people of SA for supporting Jagan. I strongly believe they deserve it.
I do not see any reason to blame any political party including SA congress leaders. They were all made spineless. Even during matters of international concerns these parties hardly spoke.
Well Well Well, unfortunately KCR has the last laugh now.
CBN,Chiru,Kiran kumar et all are history…
Cong Tulasi Reddy on AP politics with NRIs – Varadhi – USA – Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vyc6hi1rDns