The Telangana Political Joint Action Committee has called for a Telangana bandh on Monday. However, it has also announced that there will not be a
rail roko agitation on Monday.
Talking to reporters at Telangana Bhavan after holding a JAC meeting on Sunday, JAC chairman Prof. M Kodandaram said that the 3-day
rail roko agitation has been called off, and that there would only be a Telangana bandh on Monday.
He said that the RTC Employees' JAC, which ended its 27-day-long strike on Saturday night, would also participate in the Telangana bandh.
Other unions have also announced their support for the bandh.
Seeking the support of all sections of the society in the region, Kodandaram appealed to them to make the Telangana bandh a success. He also briefed the media about the decisions taken during the JAC meeting attended by Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrashekhar Rao, BJP leader Ch Vidyasagar Rao, representatives of New Democracy party and leaders of various employees' JACs.
Kodandaram slammed the state government for booking cases against activists and leaders who participated in the
rail roko agitation.
"None of them have committed any crime. They just squatted on the railway track, which is not a crime," he said, referring to the
cases booked against MPs and MLAs under the Railway Act.
He accused the government of misusing its power to sabotage the otherwise peaceful Telangana agitation. He also said that the government has made a mockery of the Constitution and of democracy while dealing with the Telangana agitation.
The JAC chairman said that Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has used the state's police forces like he would a private agency, and that the sections that were clamped against the activists were decided even before the arrests were made.
He said that despite all its attempts, the government has failed to tone down the agitation, and claimed that the
rail roko was a grand success. He praised activists for participating in the agitation despite knowing the consequences that they would have to face.
Kodandaram criticised the Centre for being non-responsive to both the agitation as well as the manner in which the government tried to contain it. He was also critical of Telangana ministers for remaining silent over the way government was treating Telangana activists. He demanded that the Telangana ministers resign from their posts immediately.
The JAC chairman announced that the Sakala Janula Samme will continue, and that more protests, including a Telangana March and a "Chalo Hyderabad" would be organised soon. (INN)