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The Centre is believed to be preparing the groundwork to impose President’s rule in the state if the situation deteriorates further.
As a first step, the Centre is said to be searching for a suitable replacement for the Governor, Mr N.D. Tiwari. The Governor heads the state administration in case President’s rule is imposed.
According to sources close to the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, the Centre had indicated to him that the process for imposing President’s rule would be taken up very shortly. He was also told that the Union cabinet secretary, Mr K.M. Chandrasekhar, might visit the state to discuss the situation as well as steps to be taken up for restoring order.
In the evening, the Intelligence Bureau joint director, Mr Madan Mohan, who is posted in the city, called on the Chief Minister. The meeting lasted about 20 minutes, sources said.
Sources said the Centre had sounded out the former Kerala chief minister, Mr Oomen Chandy, to replace Mr Tiwari, but he turned down. The state government got an indication that the Centre had been searching for a leader who is not a Governor to replace Mr Tiwari.
However, Congress sources in New Delhi and in Hyderabad said it was too early to contemplate President’s rule. Authoritative sources in the Congress said, “The question of replacing Mr Tiwari or President’s Rule did not arise.” They also dismissed the possibility of constituting a second States Reorganisation Commission.
But other sources said setting up the SRC was an option that the Congress retained to quell the growing disturbances in the state. The announcement of a second SRC will only happen if the situation worsens in Andhra Pradesh, sources maintained. The home ministry is looking at a relatively peaceful week ahead with festivals and the New Year approaching. “We need to see how the situation evolves after the next ten days,” a source said.
The announcement of a new SRC would make way for fresh demands for separate states from Gorkhaland (West Bengal), Bundelkhand, Harit Pradesh (both Uttar Pradesh) and from the North East, which got a fresh lease of life after Mr Chidambaram’s December 9 announcement on Telangana.
Indicating that the process of setting up a second SRC will be time consuming and could take years, official sources said that if the political leadership takes a decision in favour of constituting the SRC, the issue would go to the Union Cabinet which has has to approve it.
A retired Supreme Court or High Court judge could head the Commission which could also have some members. If the authority is set up, it would entertain pleas and counter-pleas of various groups , which are either opposing or favouring a separate state. Besides, the members of the SRC would visit each of the regions whose demands would be taken up for consideration.
The situation turning grim on Thursday in Telangana — the TD leader, Dr Nagam Janardhan Reddy was roughed up amid dozens of incidents of violence — may also force the Centre to speed up the process. Besides, the sports and IT minister, Mr Komatireddy Venkata Reddy, resigned from the Cabinet. He is the first minister to resign after the Telangana turmoil began in the first week of December and this would compel several other ministers from the region also to put in their papers.
The Chief Minister dashed off a letter to Mr Chidambaram to depute a large number of additional forces from neighbouring Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Sources said he also referred to the local police facing a delicate situation wherein their sincerity is coming under scanner by the pro- and anti Telangana activists.
Reports said that the Centre would be airlifting about 4,000 CRPF personnel into the state. Reports said additional forces had begun moving in from Tamil Nadu.
In Chennai, the additional director-general of police, Mr K. Radhakrishnan, said the Tamil Nadu police had sent five companies of Tamil Nadu Special Police to the state.
The police spokesperson and inspector-general, Ms A.R. Anuradha, said a substantial number of paramilitary forces were being moved into the state and they would be deployed in the city and other vulnerable areas in the Telangana region. Ms Anuradha warned parents against the situation going out of control if their children continue to create trouble on OU campus.”
DC
