KCR ended his hunger strike
Based on positive indications he received from central Congress leaders, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao ended his 11-day fast that has resulted in considerable tension and sporadic violence in the region.
Even before these political developments, TRS leaders prepared themselves to prevail upon KCR to end his indefinite fast. On the insistence of 30 mass organisations that are supporting the party’s agitation and once the telephone lines between New Delhi and Hyderabad began buzzing, the TRS politburo resolved to collectively appeal to KCR to end his hunger strike.
Though there was growing acknowledgement within the Congress central leadership that the ongoing agitation in the State had gone out of the control of the TRS, party leaders were eager to get Mr. Rao to break his fast before his condition deteriorated further as he had become the rallying point for the protesters.
Since the agitation is being spearheaded by students and their leadership is still emerging, the government found itself hemmed in because there was no clear pointsperson to whom its emissaries could speak to defuse the situation. Efforts are on to open back-channel lines of communication with the agitators even as the government grappled with demands for smaller States from other quarters
For the Congress, the resurgence of the movement for Telangana is a stark reminder of the political vacuum created in the State with the death of the former Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. This sudden spurt is being attributed to efforts by the TRS and other forces — sidelined in the YSR era — to stage a comeback after the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections signalled a thumbs down for the Telangana movement.
by THE HINDU
ULTERIOR FORUM 