The flares ignited by the contentious GO 177 introduced by the government refuse to simmer down, with various leaders and wannabes of Telangana seeking to stay in the news, smelling blood.
TDP leader and Public Accounts Committee Chairman Nagam Janardhan Reddy, who has arguably been most successful in raising his profile in the past few months, continued to fan the flames, declaring anew today that the TDP Forum would forge ahead with its fight for the complete withdrawal of the GO (it's only in abeyance for now).
Closely trailing him in the race for mileage is Telangana Congress MP G Vivek, who has also announced that he would conduct protests till the government withdraws the GO. He also stated that only the supporters of Telangana would be allowed to stay in the city after May 8th. Or something like that, anyway.
TRS MLA Harish Rao went some stesps further, declaring that he will take part in a hunger strike. He also vowed that his party would mount pressure on the government to withdraw GO 177 by organising various events opposing the directive.
Apart from leaders belonging to various political parties, teachers' associations and employees' associations in Telangana have also come out to condemn the order. Multiple leaders have opined that the GO was passed to curtail the freedom of the employees (to not work, is what they mean), and that it is undemocratic in nature.
For those who came in late, GO 177 is a state government order that was formulated in the wake of the recent Telangana pen-down strike, issued about a week back stating that employees who do not work or who protest in office premises will be punished. The state government practically retracted on its stand, when the CM, upon the advice of his cabinet,
chose to put it in abeyance