Link Telangana state to Naxalism, chief minister told me: former top cop

Government employees and supporters of united Andhra Pradesh participate in a protest against the formation of a separate Telangana state in Hyderabad on October 8.

 
Hyderabad: At a time when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has been accused of supporting protests against the state's bifurcation to create Telangana, a former top cop has alleged that Mr Reddy asked him to give an adverse report against the proposed new state.

Director General of Police Dinesh Reddy, who was replaced a week ago, has claimed that the Chief Minister had asked him to say a separate Telangana would lead to more Maoist problems.

But speaking exclusively to NDTV's Uma Sudhir, Dinesh Reddy also admitted that he had felt humiliated by the Chief Minister and that was also a reason for his outburst.

"I feel he did a turnaround and did not extend my tenure as promised because I refused to toe his line," the former police chief said.

He also alleged that the chief minister had tried to force him to transfer officers who had tried to contain the protests against Telangana.

Kiran Kumar Reddy, who is from the Seemandhra region comprising coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema, has been accused by his own party men of supporting the agitation for 'united Andhra Pradesh' that has led to a serious power crisis in Seemandhra and crippled many essential services.

Congress leaders and ministers have repeatedly petitioned the party against dividing the state. But ministers who had threatened to quit now say they will defeat the Telangana proposal in the state assembly. The Centre, however, says the assembly's decision won't change anything.

"There is anger against division, against party, and against us," Mr Reddy had told NDTV. "I was born here, I studied here, and worked in Hyderabad my whole life, but my native place is elsewhere. After 53 years, you can't say, you don't belong here." (There is anger against the party and us, says Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister)

Kiran Kumar Reddy's Congress party denied the senior police officer's allegations. "Dinesh Reddy should go to court and prove his charges, instead of making wild statements. Why did he not speak out when he was still in service?'' senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh was quoted as questioning.

Telangana protests: power crisis hits Andhra Pradesh hospitals, newborns suffer

 Hyderabad:  The Centre's decision to create a new Telangana state has paralysed Andhra Pradesh with blackouts severely affecting the health services across the state. Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy yesterday told NDTV that he did not rule out resigning if the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh was pushed through.

Here are the latest developments: 

 

 

 

 

1. Essential health services across the state have been badly hit. In Visakhapatnam, power cuts have hit King George Hospital, the only super-specialty government hospital in the region, resulting in most of the incubators not working. Lack of air conditioners have affected patients with burn injuries and other such ailments.
   
   
2. The ongoing strike by 30,000 power sector employees has left the state crippled. The chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala have written to the central electricity authority warning of possible tripping in their states due to feared collapse of the southern grid. The Union Cabinet is expected to meet today to discuss the power situation in Andhra Pradesh.
   
3. Tirupati and Vijayawada airports are running on backup power. The Vijayawada-based 1760 MW Narla Tata Rao Thermal Power Station, for the first time in its history, has completely shut down, with all seven generating units stopped. State capital Hyderabad is also witnessing blackouts.
   
   
4. Most industrial establishments and shops are running on backup power. Drinking water supply, train services, petrol availability and hospital services are all badly hit. 150 diesel locomotives are being used to run passenger and express trains while goods trains are stranded at various stations.
   
5. The precautionary curfew in Vizianagram in coastal Andhra Pradesh - epicentre of united Andhra protests - continues for the fourth day today, following violence last week.
   
6. Congress leaders and ministers from Seemandhra met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday evening after many of them resigned to protest against Telangana. Chiranjeevi, who resigned as Tourism Minister, said, "The PM is yet to accept our resignation. He has asked for more time."
   
7. Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy yesterday said the Congress has created a bigger problem in trying to solve one problem. Mr Reddy said that the people are frightened of the consequences of the state's bifurcation and that is why there is anger and agitation on the streets.
   
   
8. Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana have welcomed the plans to convert them into India's 29th state. Hyderabad will be the shared capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for the next 10 years, after which it will belong to Telangana.
   
9. A politics of hunger strikes over Telangana is also on with Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu deciding to go on an indefinite hunger strike in Delhi yesterday. YSR Congress's Jagan Mohan Reddy is on indefinite fast in Hyderabad since Saturday.
   
   
10. The Congress has indicated it will not change its mind over Telangana. Party leader Digvijaya Singh expressed surprise at what he called a u-turn by Jagan and Chandrababu Naidu. "Congress is a national party, how can it change its decision?" he said.

Telangana crisis: Am using Italian so Centre understands, Chandrababu Naidu targets Sonia Gandhi

New Delhi: Politician Chandrababu Naidu today said that since the Centre doesn't seem to understand the extent of the crisis in Andhra Pradesh, he will use Italian to explain. Mr Naidu, who heads the regional Telugu Desam Party, said that Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema are "immobilismo". For those not fluent in Italian, Mr Naidu added, "Things are at a standstill. Total standstill."

His jibe is aimed at Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Congress party, which anchors the ruling coalition at the Centre and decided last week that the process of dividing Andhra Pradesh to create a new state of Telangana must begin immediately. (Fasting and aiming at Sonia: Jagan went first, Chandrababu followed)

That move has registered high on the Richter scale, triggering huge aftershocks in the 13 districts of Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema which are the two other regions of Andhra Pradesh, and are collectively referred to as Seemandhra.
   

Mr Naidu began an indefinite fast in Delhi today to support the demand for a "United Andhra." However, he refused to answer a question on whether he thinks Telangana deserves statehood.

His political opponents accuse him of doublespeak, because in 2008, he wrote to the Centre supporting the movement for statehood for Telangana. In his defense, his party says he is fighting to protect Seemandhra's interests, and to oppose what they describe as the Centre's unilateral decision to divide Andhra Pradesh.

Mr Naidu's decision to fast in Delhi, thousands of miles from the front line of aggressive protests in Seemandhra, is being seen as an attempt to gain credibility and dispel the impression that he is following the lead of his political rival, Jagan Mohan Reddy, who began a hunger strike in Hyderabad on Saturday.

High on the list of concerns for leaders from these areas is grappling with a future devoid of the booming economy of IT hub Hyderabad, which will be a shared capital for 10 years, but will then belong to Telangana state.

There is anger against the party and us: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister

"While trying to solve a problem, Congress created a bigger one," says Kiran Kumar Reddy, describing decision to divide Andhra Pradesh as "very harsh".

Telangana crisis: Jagan Mohan Reddy fasts in Hyderabad, Chandrababu Naidu in Delhi

New Delhi: In May 2008, Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party or TDP passed a resolution supporting the decision to carve out Telangana, one of the three regions of Andhra Pradesh, as India's 29th state.

Today, Mr Naidu has begun what he describes as an indefinite hunger strike in Delhi to protest against the bifurcation of his state. His political opponents accuse him of doublespeak; his party says he is fighting to protect Seemandhra's interests, and to oppose what they describe as the centre's unilateral decision to divide Andhra Pradesh.  (Telangana crisis: 10-point cheat sheet)

Accusing the ruling Congress of "match-fixing", Mr Naidu told reporters this morning that the party" took this decision for political gains." Mr Naidu's decision to fast in Delhi, thousands of miles from the front line of aggressive protests in Seemandhra, is being seen as an attempt to gain credibility and dispel the impression that he is following the lead of his political rival, Jagan Mohan Reddy, who began a hunger strike in Hyderabad yesterday.

Last week, the union government green-lit the plan to begin the creation of the state of Telangana, a decision that registered high on the Richter scale of controversy, triggering huge protests in the 13 districts of Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema which are the two other regions of Andhra Pradesh, and are collectively referred to as Seemandhra.

High on the list of concerns for leaders from these areas is how water, power and revenue will be distributed between the old and new states. What matters most is grappling with a future devoid of the booming economy of IT hub Hyderabad, which will be a shared capital for 10 years, but will then belong to Telangana state.

After Telangana becomes a state, it will elect 21 members to the Lok Sabha, matching the number of parliamentary seats from Seemandhra. The Congress expects its decision to reward it with a sweep in Telangana that will compensate for the anger against it in the other two regions.