Following the decision of the Central government to further delay any announcement on granting statehood for the Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh, a district court in AP on Monday directed the state police to investigate allegations whether Union ministers P Chidambaram and Sushilkumar Shinde have ?cheated? the people of Telangana. A petition filed in the AP court alleged that the two UPA ministers had given false assurances on creating the new state of Telangana.
The order was passed by the Rangareddy District Court in response to a petition filed by Andhra Pradesh Junior Advocates Association. The court has asked the police to file a status report on the matter by mid-next month. The court?s order could come as a big jolt for the ruling Congress government both in the state and at the Centre, which has repeatedly assured a quick fix on the Telangana issue.
Shinde, who had said after an all-party meeting on December 28 that the government will decide on the issue within a month, has said that more time is needed. On Monday, seven of the Congress MPs from the Telangana region threatened to resign from their posts, protesting against the Centre’s delaying tactics.
The court ruling also came on a day when mass protests were being held in parts of Andhra Pradesh by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which has threatened to intensify the stir for a separate state. The pro-Telangana groups have termed the Centre?s move as a ?big betrayal? and decided to launch an agitation targeting Congress ministers, MPs and state legislators in the region. The Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) is likely to call for the social boycott of Congress ministers.
The TRS had fronted the campaign for a new state in 2009, with its leaders going on a hunger strike that gave new momentum to the movement.
