Prayer on the lips

The confrontation between regions, and among different sections of society, being promoted by Delhi with reckless abandon could have disastrous consequences. Even after a month of announcing the decision of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and the UPA Coordination Committee to bifurcate the State, there is little follow-up action except the appointment of Antony Committee. Consequently, actions that should have preceded the decision have not been taken. The Antony Committee is an arrangement of the Congress party and cannot be expected to be respected by other parties. It was not able to convince even Congress leaders in AP on both sides of the divide. Broader consultations with the Opposition parties at different levels should have taken place by now. Things are dangerously slow and the leaders in Delhi seem to be in no hurry while the State is in flames.

The Antony Committee has been providing an opportunity to ministers, MPs and MLAs of Telangana and Seemandhra to reiterate their stand a number of times. The interactions seem to be endless. At the end of each meeting Digvijay Singh, a senior leader known for his political craft, a General Secretary of the AICC who is in charge of AP affairs, walks to the waiting media persons and utters one or two brief sentences and walks away with an inscrutable smile on his face. It is difficult to guess what the Thakur is up to. He conveys the same message time and again, “The Congress is not going back on the decision to bifurcate the State. The party would give utmost importance to the views of the people of a State which sent it to power twice. We will not do injustice to any part of the State”. These stock responses by party’s points man don’t really carry conviction since the Congress High Command is not seen as trying to douse the fire in Seemandhra and Hyderabad by putting a stop to the diabolical drama that has been going on for years. The scenes repeat with monotonous regularity; same persons, same body language and the same message. A feeling of disgust and dismay overtakes you.

Government employees from Seemandhra are trying to emulate their counterparts from Telangana. K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR)of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and Kodandaram of Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) have been in the forefront of the Telangana movement with the government employees providing the muscle. Leaders are not visible in the movement that has been going on in Seemandhra for more than a month although the YSRCP has successfully placed itself at the helm by its quick response to the CWC decision. But it does not want to be seen as the leader of the movement. At least, not yet.

Chandrababu Naidu, TDP chief, has entered the fray a little late. He has been expressing sympathy to the cause of united AP, risking criticism and loss of support in Telangana. But he too is not prepared to lead the movement for unity of the State openly. Since getting a mileage is more important than anything else, in view of the looming general elections, the political leaders are at their acrimonious best in the blame game. Vijayamma and Sharmila take potshots at Naidu at every opportunity. They criticize Sonia Gandhi and Kiran Kumar Reddy too. They tell us how YS Rajasekhara Reddy protected the unity of the State. Naidu lambasts Sonia, Rahul, Kiran, KCR and Digvijay Singh, in that order. He has been going round in Guntur district spitting fire at his opponents. Dayakar Rao, convener of Telangana TDP Forum, tells us how YSR had started the whole game that led to this state of affairs and threatens to end in bifurcation.

Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy would like to lead the movement in Seemandhra but would not like to be seen as its leader for obvious reasons. But he would go to any extent and use any opportunity to convey to the people of Seemandhra that he is fighting their battle to the best of his ability. Truly, the leadership qualities in Kiran Reddy have been on full display ever since the CWC decision. He has been stubborn and consistent in his stand. He is reported to be in league with the protagonists of united AP by all means without being restrained by his position as the CM.

Kiran has easily outshone the other Congress leaders in Seemandhra by his bold stance to defy the party high command, though it is impossible to know, at this stage, if it was genuinely a defiance or a command performance. He comes across as a leader who is committed to the united AP. That was the only course open to him. He cannot be equivocal any more after the CWC decision. He cannot continue to say that “the ball is in the Centre’s court”. The other option before him was to quit in protest against the party decision and lead the movement for united AP. That would have been more open and honest but fraught with huge risk.

Notwithstanding the fact that the movement in Seemandhra is spontaneous, it would be wrong to assume that it has no leader. It has leaders who do not wish to be seen as leading the movement for their own reasons. They are, however, contributing their mite in their own way. Sailajanath, another leader who emerged as the spokesman of the movement, has been behaving in a belligerent way uninhibited by the limitations of being a minister.

There is division in the State Cabinet, in the Secretariat and the bureaucracy all over the State. Political leaders, journalists, advocates, doctors, teachers, almost all sections of the people, are divided to the core. Bringing the warring groups together and instilling a sense of brotherhood appears impossible. There is a lot of pressure on the media which is finding it difficult to maintain a balance at a time when every word and every deed is disproportional and irrational since the people are emotional. It is impossible to satisfy any leader or party.

That is perhaps the reason why every political party is going for its news channel owning it directly or indirectly. Now it is the turn of the BJP. Yet another channel will be added to the plethora to create more confusion in the minds of the viewers. Electronic medium has a prime role in the war of attrition. It can show the raw emotions and exaggerate the facts with the help of visuals which are repeatedly shown for effect. TV channels play a definite role in movements of this kind. Blaming them alone would be uncharitable. The persons behind the electronic media are drawn from the same society. It happened earlier. It is happening now. It will happen tomorrow.

We cannot blame the politicians either. They are forced by the events which are not under their control although they are of their own making, at least partially. Having played the game in contravention of the rules, they cannot blame the rules. They continue to play. Remaining in the field is important. As the elections approach the noise has been rising to a crescendo to drown the people. No one will listen to reason until the elections are out of the way. We may have to wait for eight more months for the dust to settle. But this period before the polls is going to be tumultuous. Any decision can mean trouble. Either way, the common people are damned. Mutual bickering is at its worst. While all the other States in the country are on the path of development, we have been cursed with internecine feuds.

Against this background, the day after tomorrow is rather frightening. Ominous dark clouds are gathering over the city. There is tension in the air. APNGOs have been permitted by Hyderabad city police to hold a meeting at LB Stadium with some conditions. They have a right to organise a meeting. Nobody can find fault with the police for granting them permission. One of the stipulations, however, was that only the employees with proper identity cards would be allowed into the stadium. But the leaders of APNGOs have been calling upon the people in Seemandhra region to send at least two persons from every family.

The TNGOs have been demanding that their parallel meeting on the same day be permitted. Manda Krishna Madiga, leader of MRPS, known for his ability to bring crowds into the city in a surreptitious manner, applied for permission for a public meeting on Friday. The police have not given green signal either to the TNGOs or to Krishna Madiga. The OU Student JAC was also denied permission to take out a rally since all kinds of rallies are prohibited till the 10th.

What would the police do if the conditions are followed in their breach and what would be the consequences of any action taken by the police is a matter of great concern to the peace-loving citizens of Hyderabad.

The State is not bereft of wise persons who can give sane advice. There are retired judges, top bureaucrats, senior journalists and intellectuals of the highest order who are known for their honesty and who have seen a lot of life. But at times like this, nobody has respect for reputations. No intellectual ventures to give unsolicited suggestion for fear of being misunderstood. There are retired IAS officers from both the regions who worked in many districts all over the State. They loved and served the people wherever they worked. They can play a very constructive role. But they would not go to TV channels for debates and would not like to be interviewed at their residences. They shudder to commit themselves in public. Silence and prayer are the only options open to persons in this category.