Loan Waiver Scheme Fails To Save AP Ryots

CAG Study Finds Farmers Selling Organs To Extricate Themselves From Debt Trap. Almost five years after the UPA government allocated the lion’s share of its Rs 52,000 crore farm loan waiver scheme to Andhra Pradesh, reports are emerging from the state that distressed farmers are selling their organs to come out of the agricultural debt trap. 
    
Three states – Andhra Pradesh, UP and Maharashtra – had got almost 57% of the Rs 52,000 crore package meant for all 35 states and Union Territories. Disbursal in Andhra Pradesh was Rs 11,000 crore while it was Rs 9,095 crore in UP and Rs 8,900 crore in Maharashtra. The farm loan waiver has been cited as one of the main vote-catchers for the Congress in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and this was vindicated in the party’s handsome performance in the three states with the largest allocations. While Congress bagged 31 seats in Andhra, it got 22 in UP and 16 in Maharashtra, a performance which facilitated formation of the second UPA government at the Centre. 
    
In Andhra Pradesh, around 77 lakh farmers cornered more than Rs 11,000 crore, almost 21% of the total farm loan waiver package. But as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report reveals, a huge number of ineligible farmers were allowed waiver while many marginal and small farmers were denied the benefit and they continued to remain in a debt trap. 
    
CAG detected tampering with loan records, alteration in ledgers and changing records where non-agricultural loans were converted into agricultural loans. 
    
In one such instance, the auditor pointed out how the AP Grameen Bank in Ballikurava had altered land holdings of at least 17 loanees so as to alter their category and make them eligible for full waiver in the marginal farmer category. These irregularities were noticed not just in Andhra Pradesh but across several states were sample study was carried out by the auditor. 
    
The CAG’s sample study was carried out over 715 bank branches in 92 districts of 25 states involving more than 80,000 farmers’ loan accounts. The disbursement to these farmers amounted to Rs 330 crore. 
    
In Andhra Pradesh, scrutiny of 3,200 loan accounts revealed that in at least 132 cases, ineligible benefits were allowed, highest among all states bar J&K where the sample study found ineligible benefits were allowed to 153 farmers. In close to 100 cases in Andhra Pradesh, the CAG found benefits extended to farmers on loans which were not disbursed in the first place.

Hyderabad Blasts: Loud Enough To Wake Up The AP Police?

Even if the bomb blasts had not happened at Dilsukhnagar in Hyderabad on Thursday evening, Andhra Pradesh police would still have been busy. Its focus for the last two weeks or so was on how to handle the rasta roko ((sadak bandh) called by the Telangana Joint Action Committee on the Hyderabad-Bangalore National Highway on and the Hyderabad-Vijayawada National Highway on 2 March.

Interestingly, the geographical location of Dilsukhnagar – it leads to the Vijayawada Highway and one can also access the Bangalore Highway by passing through it – meant the area was being closely looked at to create an alternate route for commuters on the two days.

Over the last four days, there has been a furious debate over whether the police did not act on intelligence inputs – generic or specific – to neutralise the terrorists. Fact of the matter is that the Andhra Pradesh police does spend quality time in collecting intelligence. Except that it is mostly political in nature.

Andhra Pradesh is not an exception. It is the way ruling parties in all states have always used their police force. In Andhra Pradesh, the Telangana agitation, Jaganmohan Reddy rebellion and the MIM trouble has meant the establishment is always interested in knowing what its political rivals are up to. So snooping on politicians (who met who and where, when, why and how) gains priority over gathering intelligence on those who are plotting sinister terror attacks. The Counter Intelligence Cell which is entrusted with the task of gathering intelligence related to terror suspects, finds itself under a cloud after the twin blasts.

Even when intelligence inputs are passed on to the cops on the field, it does not necessarily translate into action. With the state frequently in agitation mode, cops are forced to do tiring bandobast duty. During the communal skirmishes in the Old city area of Hyderabad in November for example, city police commissioner Anurag Sharma conceded that every last constable was deployed.

The State Intelligence Bureau (SIB) is totally focused on combating Maoist activity. Which in effect means doing nothing much, since Maoism in Andhra Pradesh has been steadily on the wane since 2005, barring a few pockets in Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) zone.

It is a criticism the police force is unwilling to accept. Senior officers point out that if Hyderabad has not seen a terror attack since August 2007, it is also because the counter intelligence machinery is up to the task of neutralising sleeper cells and keeping tabs on suspicious movements. Chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has been batting for his cops and points out that arrests carried out in Bihar, Delhi or Karnataka could not have taken place but for critical intelligence provided by Andhra Pradesh policemen.

But there are other issues with the way the Home department functions. The appointment of Sabitha Indra Reddy as Home minister is seen as mere tokenism – a woman minister from Telangana – as she is like a fish out of water in the tough world of modern-day policing. She is not in the P Chidambaram mould, someone who can contribute to the efficient working of the police force. As a result, it is the Chief Minister’s office that already has enough on its plate, who the top cops report to.

Security analysts point out that there is an urgent need to relook at postings because not many young officers who would have the aptitude to understand hi-tech gizmos used by terror groups and connect the dots technically have been posted in critical wings of the police.

The police force also has seen turbulence at the top in the last one year. DGP Dinesh Reddy and another DG rank officer Umesh Kumar have been lodged both in a war of words in and outside court. The legal battle that has seen them accuse each other of filing false affidavits, forgery and corruption has not brought any credit to the prestige of the office they hold.

The sound of the blast at Dilsukhnagar was so loud that it is feared that at least 40 of those injured would suffer loss of hearing. For the sake of the safety of the people of Andhra Pradesh, one hopes the sound is more of a wake-up call for the state police force.

'Cong, TDP Trade Blows Rescued Andhra Pradesh Pilgrims'

By Swati Reddy / Dehradun

Congress leaders got into fisticuffs with Telugu Desam Party politicians on Wednesday over providing assistance to pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh stranded after floods in Uttarakhand. The leaders of both parties fought each other at the Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun.

Congress and TDP have already been engaged in war of words over relief operations in the rain-ravaged state but it finally came to blows.

'If Telangana Created, Demands Will Erupt In Other States'

By Arhaan Faraaz | Hyderabad

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW  Article 3 of the Constitution that provides for forming a new State is being misused like never before, YSR Congress leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy said on Wednesday.

In an exclusive interview to INN Live, he said he would spare no effort to make leaders of political parties understand the consequences of dividing Andhra Pradesh. “Today if you permit this [creation of Telangana State) to happen, very soon it will spread to every other State and Andhra Pradesh will be seen as a precedent.”

Why Jagan Reddy Won’t Try Any Pre-Poll Alliances In AP?

By Saye Sekhar | Hyderabad

Why is YS Jaganmohan Reddy not open to a pre-poll alliance with any political party? Jagan desires to leave the door ajar for a post-poll alliance with the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the hot favourite to occupy the treasury benches in the Parliament.

In the seat-sharing talks between the Telugu Desam Party and the BJP too, there seems to be a deadlock -- a natural part of any negotiation process -- but it's not all over yet with the state unit of the BJP stating that the central party leadership will make the final decision. 

Special Report: Land Pooling Strategy For The New Andhra Capital Could Become A Model For India's Smart Cities

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Andhra Pradesh's experiment with voluntary land pooling could provide an alternative to forcible land acquisition.

Tallayapalem is a village like many others in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district. It has lush green fields, and its prosperity is evident from the concrete houses scattered along its central thoroughfare. Somewhat incongruously, one field off the main road houses a canvas tent under which a small group of policemen has been doing 24-hour duty since June 6, 2015.

Why Doesn’t the AP Police Come Clean About Two Missing Tribal Women?

It is easy to know when you have crossed the Andhra Pradesh border to step into Chhattisgarh. An apology of a road that connects to Sukma town takes three hours to traverse a distance of 75 km. The southern part of the state, just like the border areas in Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh, is forest area, where the police stations are heavily fortified posts, protecting themselves more than protecting the local population. Because more often than not, the cops look at anyone who is not in khaki, as an enemy, a Maoist. And if not a Maoist, most definitely a Maoist sympathiser.

And when the law looks at everyone else as an outlaw, they invariably cross the line. Like the policemen from Andhra Pradesh reportedly did on 12 January when they allegedly crossed the border to take away two tribal women – 21-year-old Madvi Parvathi and 15-year-old Kovasi Somidi – from Nimmalagudem village. Home to some 30 tribal families, the village is in Konta block of Sukma district, 3 km inside Chhattisgarh from the border. The tribals engage in farming for their livelihood, growing paddy, millet and chillies and migrating to areas in Andhra Pradesh during the summer to work as labour.

The Human Rights Forum (HRF) team that visited the village four days later, was told by the villagers that an police party, around 100 persons strong, assaulted villagers, including children before taking away six of them into the forest. They were taken to a spot, about half a kilometre from the village, near a hillock where there were remnants of a camp set up by the Maoists a couple of days back. The security personnel accused the six villagers of providing food and help to the Maoists and allegedly beat them.

It was after repeated pleading that four of them were let off but Parvathi and Somidi were taken away. Parvathi who is three months pregnant, was also allegedly partially disrobed by the all-male contingent of cops.

For days after the `official abduction’, the villagers kept combing the forest areas in search of the two women, or perhaps their bodies. Finally they walked nearly two hours by foot to Cherla, a mandal headquarters in Khammam district and narrated the events to local reporters. They also met the Bhadrachalam sub-collector Narayana Bharat Gupta to plead for help in locating the duo. He offered them hope but since yesterday, has been pleading that Nimmalagudem is not part of his jurisdiction.

For the villagers, to be caught in the crossfire between the police and Maoists is nothing new. They say every time there is movement of Maoists in the area or any incident involving the Maoists, the Andhra Pradesh police targets and harasses them. VS Krishna of HRF recalls an incident in Nimmalagudem in 2008 when two men were picked up from the village allegedly by security personnel, taken to Cherla and shot dead. A petition was also filed in the State Human Rights Commission in the case.

After messages sent by fax to the Chief Justices of the Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh High courts seeking their intervention did not yield any result, a habeas corpus petition has been filed in the Andhra Pradesh High court today, to get the police force to come clean on Parvathi and Somidi.

Almost at the same time as the petition was filed in the High court, Gajarao Bhupal, ASP of Khammam police denied having picked up the women, claiming no police party visited Nimmalagudem on January 12.

“There should have been at least a case of missing persons filed in Kishtaram police station under which Nimmalagudem falls but there is no case there. The Chhattisgarh police too has not enquired,” he said.

In an ironical twist, the villagers plan to travel to Khammam district today to physically mount pressure on the administration came unstuck because the North Telangana unit of the Maoists has called a bandh in the area on some other issue.

That human rights are violated both by security personnel and Maoists is not new. For years, villagers in Naxal-affected areas of north Telangana faced either police harassment or Naxal kangaroo courts, just because they did not have the courage to say no to a man with a weapon. But if India’s “greatest internal security threat” is to be fought by the state making several innocents in the geographical ‘Bharat’ pay the price, it would be a war that would only widen the divide that already exists between the two Indias.

Meanwhile, the state needs to answer : Where are Parvathi and Somidi?

Cyclone Phailin, Half Of The India, May Damage Odisha, AP

By Kajol Singh / INN Live

The very severe cyclonic storm Phailin, expected to make landfall at Gopalpur in Odisha, moved closer to the state and lay about 600 km southeast of Paradip, as the government sought the help of defence forces to boost its preparedness, official sources said.

"The system Phailin over east central Bay of Bengal moved northwestwards slightly, intensified further and lay centred at about 600 km southeast of Paradip and 700 km southeast of Gopalpur," the latest bulletin issued by the IMD said. (Latest Live Updates, check our 'Live News Ticker' to know more.)

Commentary: Capital Controversy, Hyderabad like Delhi

By Madabhushi Sridhar (Guest Writer)

Under the pressure of the Seemandhra Congress leaders the High Command announced a high level committee with four senior Congress leaders, Digvijay, Antony, Veerappa Moily and Ahmed Patel to remove their apprehensions about revenue, water and safety during division of state.

The seeds of uncertainty and doubts about Hyderabad are sown in the CWC resolution itself, though written with ‘skilful diplomatic efficiency’. Their hesitant assurance and doubtful commitment form part of their written statements, while congress leaders leak every thing ‘off the record’. Earlier when they had poll alliance with TRC in 2004 they just ‘referred’ to Telangana demand which later became controversial and revealed an escape route for them. Then election manifesto, Presidential Address and even the declaration on December 9, 2009 are drafted with great diplomacy which did not lead to any commitment. The latest example, is the resolution of CWC on 30th July 2013.

Shoot-At-Sight Orders In Vizianagaram, Curfew In Andhra

By Rajita Kumar / Guntur

Curfew has been imposed in Vizianagaram town and other parts of Seemandhra with police given the orders to shoot at sight in the wake of large-scale violence by anti-bifurcation agitators, police said here. Vizianagaram, a town in coastal Andhra, has been roiling since the Union Cabinet's decision to create the state of Telangana out of the existing state of Andhra Pradesh.

INN IMPACT: Compared To 2G, Farm Loan Waiver Isn’t Even A Scam

It is tempting to label any report put out by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) as a scam. But unlike its reports on 2G spectrum and coal block allocations (Coalgate), the CAG report on the UPA’s farm loan waiver scheme is not indicative of a scam.

This is not a report the UPA should get apoplectic about, nor anything for the opposition to salivate over. The scheme more or less achieved its social purpose – of providing debt relief to small and marginal farmers – and also its political purpose, which was to give the Congress party an edge in the 2009 elections.

What the CAG report uncovers is the systemic flaws that partially neutralised the objectives of the scheme – and this is not something unique only to UPA schemes. If anything, the Congress should brandish the report to show low the element of scandal really was in this scheme.

The “scam” element is nowhere near the Rs 1.76 lakh crore reported in 2G or Rs 1.86 lakh crore in Coalgate; if at all one should put a figure to it, by projecting the CAG’s negative observations from its sample audits to the whole scheme, the total amount involved in “lapses” would be around 22.32 percent. Given the Rs 52,000 crore spend on the scheme, the amount involved would be around Rs 11,600 crore, the lapses were extrapolated to the entire universe of beneficiaries. Little of it can be equated to graft.

This is what CAG did and what it found out.

The scheme, intended to provide 4.29 crore small and marginal farmers either with complete debt writeoffs or a one-time settlement of dues, was implemented in 2008-09, just in time for the Congress to benefit politically from it.

The auditor sampled 90,576 beneficiaries in 25 states and 92 districts to come up with a report on how the scheme was implemented or mis-implemented. And this is what it found.

One, 13.46 percent of those found eligible for debt waivers did not get them. This is a problem of exclusion, and the worst you can say is the UPA’s commitment to inclusion didn’t work here.

Two, 8.5 percent of those who got waivers were not eligible for it. This is where the scheme has the whiff of a scam, but it is not huge. Even when extrapolated over the entire Rs 52,000 crore writeoff mentioned by CAG, the amount involved would be around Rs 4,420 crore. Peanuts, compared to 2G or CWG or Coalgate.

Three, in 6 percent of the cases, or 4,826 checked accounts, farmers were not given their waiver entitlements correctly – 3,262 cases got “undue benefits” and the rest got less than they were entitled do. Undue benefits certainly reek of a smallish scam or bad implementation.

Four, banks and institutions made hay by claiming things they were not entitled to. For example, CAG found that in some cases the lenders did not incur any interest costs, but they still claimed reimbursements from the centre.

Five, the lenders did shoddy paperwork in helping farmers. If the main purpose of the scheme was to write off farm loans and make them eligible for further borrowings from banks, CAG found that banks did not give debt-relief certificates to 34 percent of farmers in order to entitle them to further loans.

But the real problem thrown up by the CAG report lies not in its main conclusions, but in what one can infer from the figures presented.

CAG figures show that Andhra Pradesh (Rs 11,354 crore) and Maharashtra (Rs 8,951 crore), two Congress-ruled states, apart from Uttar Pradesh (Rs 9,095 crore) were the biggest beneficiaries from the loan waivers. Congress won both Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra (in partnership with NCP), and made unexpectedly huge strides in Uttar Pradesh.

Forty-five percent of the eligible loan waivers (here the CAG mentions Rs 65,318 crore and not Rs 52,000 crore) went to these three states.

But here’s the real issue to investigate. Andhra Pradesh, as the biggest beneficiary, gave birth to the next localised financial crisis – the microfinance boom and subsequent bust soon after the loan waivers of 2008-09.

Andhra Pradesh has been over-penetrated by microfinance institutions, and by 2006 over 85 percent of microfinance beneficiaries were recipients of multiple loans.

As loans were turning bad, microfinance institutions were using strong-arm methods to recover loans, and by 2010 the Andhra government, rattled by a spate of farmer suicides, imposed an ordinance to restrain microfinance institutions (MFIs). By 2011, the Andhra microfinance boom story was over.

Connect the dots, and this is what needs further research.

Andhra Pradesh farmers received the highest amount of loan waivers (Rs 11,353 crore) in 2008. This enabled them to raise more loans from banks, but the waivers would have enabled them to also raise more from MFIs – thus creating a further buildup of loan burden that led to the final MFI bust in 2010-11.

Under the Centre’s debt waiver scheme, loans extended by microfinance companies were not eligible for waivers. But this is what CAG says: “During audit in five states (Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal), it was noticed that a private scheduled commercial bank have received reimbursements for loans extended to MFIs.”

The questions to examine are the following:
Did the centre’s loan waiver contribute to the buildup of MFI exposures and subsequent collapse? Did MFIs use the scheme to recover their own dues? Given that Andhra and Maharashtra were the biggest beneficiaries, was the loan waiver scheme hijacked by Congress politicians in these two states?

More important from a systemic viewpoint, do extensive loan waivers create a moral hazard for further overborrowing and defaults?

Why The Idea Of 'Rayala Telangana' Is Back On Table?

By M H Ahssan | INN Live

"Can't say" was the cryptic reply by Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief minister, Damodar Rajanarasimha, when asked if the idea of Rayala Telangana state was gaining currency with the Group of Ministers (GoM). Rajanarasimha's reply, which also conveyed a crestfallen frame of mind, was a clear indication that the Centre was hardly open about what it planned to do with Andhra Pradesh. It was only when Rajanarasimha was asked for his reaction to a possible Rayala Telangana state by a Congress leader during his visit to Delhi last week that realisation dawned on him that Rayala Telangana as a proposal had not been dumped.  

Division: Hyderabad To Add Another Chapter To Its History

By Ramesh Reddy / INN Bureau

Hyderabad is all set to add another chapter to its 422-year-old history by becoming the joint capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for 10 years.

Located in the heart of Telangana, the city will also serve as the capital of Andhra Pradesh, the name which the non-Telangana region called Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and Andhra) is likely to retain.

Under the formula worked out by Congress, Hyderabad will serve as joint capital for 10 years and during this period, Andhra Pradesh will build its own capital.

Arrogance of power: Congress feeds on itself in AP

In 1982, Rajiv Gandhi lost his cool – and Andhra Pradesh – on the tarmac of the Begumpet airport at Hyderabad. This was when Rajiv Gandhi was a Congress general secretary and was irked by the boisterous welcome that the then Andhra Pradesh chief minister T Anjaiah had arranged for him. A dressing down followed, and the public ticking-off was seen as an insult to Telugu atmagauravam (self-pride). Filmstar-turned-politician NT Rama Rao rode to power on that sentiment the following year.

Is Vayalar Ravi doing a Rajiv Gandhi thirty years on? This week, the Union Minister who also handles the Congress’ affairs on Andhra Pradesh on a freelance basis, behaved like an arrogant class teacher while responding to reports of complaints from various quarters about Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy. Ravi admitted to receiving such complaints and, worse, announced that Kiran would be summoned to Delhi and asked for an explanation.

Clearly, Congressmen forget history easily and are, therefore, condemned to repeat it.

Even though most Congressmen have their knives out for Kiran, Ravi’s brusque manner of treating the Chief Minister of a State, as if he is some domestic errand, has gone down very badly. In private conversations, they call it the high-handed approach that typifies Delhidurbar politics and Congressmen are surprised that Ravi, who has cut his teeth in Kerala politics, should talk such language.

For Kiran personally, it was an embarrassment;  just a day before Ravi’s beamer, the Chief Minister had,  having completed two years in office,  ruled out any change of leadership, asserting that he was here to stay until 2014.

But look at Andhra Pradesh from the prism of Delhi and the political establishment in Hyderabad comes across as a bunch of squabbling leaders, full of negativity and conspiracies.

On Thursday, one of Kiran’s fiercest critics, senior leader Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy resigned as MLA. Ramachandra Reddy, who too hails from Chittoor district, like the Chief Minister, has never seen eye to eye with Kiran and wanted the high command to remove him by 30 November. When the deadline lapsed, Ramachandra Reddy, who was a Minister under YSR and Rosaiah, quit. It is almost certain that he will now join Jagan’s party.

The Andhra Pradesh cabinet is a classic example of a team where very few respect the captain. Health Minister DL Ravindra Reddy has been a perennial dissident who publicly defies the authority of the CM, and yet Kiran has not been able to convince Delhi to show him the door. Endowments Minister C Ramachandraiah openly bats for his leader Chiranjeevi, while Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha reportedly did not even take the CM’s phone calls during a recent spat. And PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana frequently crosses swords with Kiran.

When Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi decided to sever his 15-year  alliance with the Congress, he blamed Kiran Kumar Reddy for pushing him to take such an extreme step. His party, the MIM, clearly wasn’t pleased with the CM not supporting it on crucial issues.

To be fair to Kiran, much of his problems are of Delhi’s making. Delhi wants to keep him in check, and has given him a team whose sole objective seems to be to insult him. By granting the dissidents an audience periodically, the leadership only encourages mischief and keeps Kiran on tenterhooks. If the Congress really wants him to work, they need to give him a free hand.

But then, Kiran also is part of the problem. Most Ministers point to his style of functioning that borders on being aloof and autocratic. The most recent incident was during the official launch of the work on Hyderabad Metro Rail, to which event Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy was not properly invited. This despite the fact that Jaipal played a pivotal role in making the project see the light of day in his earlier avatar as Urban Development minister. Fingers were immediately pointed at the frosty relationship that Kiran shares with Jaipal, and the CM was blamed for not abiding by protocol – and good grace.

Kiran desperately needs to convert foes into friends; perhaps it might help him to dip into the bestseller How to win friends and influence people.

What works for Kiran, however, is that there are a couple of powerful Congress leaders backing him in Delhi. Plus a Union Minister from the State who works on creating Brand Kiran. And then, of course, there is the TINA factor, with any replacement not likely to do better than Kiran under the present circumstances.

But with just over a year left for elections, the Congress will have to get its act together in Andhra Pradesh. After all, the tally of 29 and 33 Lok Sabha seats from the State in 2004 and 2009 respectively was critical to the formation of UPA 1 and UPA 2.

The high command has to decide if Kiran is the best person to revive an electorally unfit Congress and if yes, back him completely. Encouraging every Congressman to try out his own treatment on the patient – in this case, the Andhra Pradesh Congress – is hardly the way to get him battle-ready.

THE TELANGANA AGITATION

By M H Ahsan

The Telangana agitation started in the first week of January 1969 in Khammam when students demanded the implementation of the Telangana safeguards enumerated in the Gentlemen's Agreement. It soon spread to different parts of Telangana. The students got divided into two groups: one demanding the implementation of safeguards and the other demanding a separate Telangana state.

Non-Gazetted Officers threatened direct action on January 11, 1969, if their demands were not met. At the outbreak of the agitation, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh called for an All-Party Meeting and announced that there was a perfect unanimity among the leaders to 'achieve full integration of Andhra Pradesh State.

Two issues were discussed and agreed upon:

1) The appointment of a senior civil service officer to decide the question of Telangana surpluses

2) Relieving of all domicile persons from Telangana posts and providing jobs for them in the Andhra region.

Following the All-Party Accord of January 1969, the State Government issued orders for the transfer of non-domicile public employees from Telangana. The Government order on these transfers was the Public Employment Act of 1957. The rules were challenged by Andhra employees in the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The High Court struck down the Public Employment Act and the Rules. The Government appealed to the division bench of the High Court.

A few other Andhra employees led by A.V.S. Narasimha Rao filed a separate writ petition in the Supreme Court on February 4, 1969, challenging the validity of the Government Order and also the Public Employment Act of 1957 and the Rules. The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court gave its judgement on March 28 quashing the Government Order.

As a follow-up measure of the All-Party accord, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh arranged for the accounting of Telangana surplus funds. Kumar Lalith, Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General, assessed the surplus funds as Rs.34.10 crores.

The Telangana agitation continued in the meantime. In the beginning it was leaderless. Madan Mohan, a lawyer, formed a forum known as the Telangana Praja Samithi (TPS) in February 1969. Chenna Reddy was sympathetic to these leaders. Violence increased. Firing was often employed to disperse violent crowds. The TPS organized conventions in many towns across Telangana and soon got strengthened. Chenna Reddy came out openly in support of a separate Telangana and K.V. Ranga Reddy gave his blessings to the movement. Law and order continued to deteriorate.

The Prime Minister Indira Gandhi discussed the problem with leaders of the Opposition in Parliament on April 9,1969. Except for the Swatantra Party all others did not support a separate state. The Prime Minister Indira Gandhi rejected the demand for the ouster of Kasu Brahmananda Reddy from the leadership of the Andhra Pradesh Congress.

The Prime Minister announced an Eight-Point Formula on April 11,1969 to ensure the development of Telangana. In consonance with this formula, the Centre appointed two committees:

1. Committee of Jurists under former Justice K.N. Wanchoo to suggest measures to provide constitutional safeguards for the Telangana people in the matter of public employment

2. Committee under Justice Bhargava to assess the revenue surpluses of Telangana.

In spite of these measures the agitation mounted and grew in intensity. Bandhs, hartals and processions were very frequent. Demand for a separate state became the central theme of the agitation.

The Prime Minister visited Hyderabad on June 4, 1969. She met leaders of different groups and political parties. Subsequently, then Union Home Minister, Y. B. Chavan, also visited Hyderabad to have discussions. Consensus reached on two things:

(1) The dismissal of Brahmananda Reddy's ministry.

(2) Proclamation of Presidential rule in Andhra Pradesh.

Realizing that the agitation was very strongly motivated, particularly about the dismissal of his government, Brahmananda Reddy tendered his resignation on June 27. The Congress leadership sent Congress President Nijalingappa and a senior member Kamaraj Nadar, to seek the verdict of the State Legislature Party. The Congress Legislature Party affirmed its support to Kasu Brahmananda Reddy and suggested that he should continue until normalcy was restored and a peaceful changeover should be opted, giving the leadership to someone from Telangana.

The Telangana leaders felt that agitation politics alone would not be sufficient to dethrone Brahmananda Reddy. This realization made the TPS enter into the electoral politics. It won a by-election in June 1970, defeating the Congress (R). By this time, the Congress had already split at the national level and the TPS supported the leadership of Indira Gandhi. Brahmananda Reddy also supported her.

In the December of 1970, Indira Gandhi dissolved the Lok Sabha and announced a mid-term poll. The TPS eventually contested all the 14 seats to Parliament from Telangana and won 10 out of them. In spite of her overwhelming majority in the Lok Sabha, Indira Gandhi did not give any leverage to the TPS which opted for a compromise in September 1971 and merged with the Congress (R). The deal involved:

1. Continuation of Mulki Rules;

2. Separate budget and accounts for Telangana

3. Separate Pradesh Congress Committee for Telangana

4.Resignation of Brahmananda Reddy in favor of a Chief Minister from Telangana.

The Telangana agitation did not achieve its important goal of a separate state, but secured assurance of safeguards for the region. Its achievement was quite significant. It wrested for the first time the Chief Ministership from the politically dominant Andhras. However, the new Chief Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao (former Education Minister in the State Cabinet) was an integrationist and politically a light weight in the Reddy dominated Telangana politics. Ten portfolios in his ministry went to Telangana, three of them belonging to the erstwhile TPS.

THE TELANGANA AGITATION

By M H Ahsan

The Telangana agitation started in the first week of January 1969 in Khammam when students demanded the implementation of the Telangana safeguards enumerated in the Gentlemen's Agreement. It soon spread to different parts of Telangana. The students got divided into two groups: one demanding the implementation of safeguards and the other demanding a separate Telangana state.

Non-Gazetted Officers threatened direct action on January 11, 1969, if their demands were not met. At the outbreak of the agitation, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh called for an All-Party Meeting and announced that there was a perfect unanimity among the leaders to 'achieve full integration of Andhra Pradesh State.

Two issues were discussed and agreed upon:

1) The appointment of a senior civil service officer to decide the question of Telangana surpluses

2) Relieving of all domicile persons from Telangana posts and providing jobs for them in the Andhra region.

Following the All-Party Accord of January 1969, the State Government issued orders for the transfer of non-domicile public employees from Telangana. The Government order on these transfers was the Public Employment Act of 1957. The rules were challenged by Andhra employees in the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The High Court struck down the Public Employment Act and the Rules. The Government appealed to the division bench of the High Court.

A few other Andhra employees led by A.V.S. Narasimha Rao filed a separate writ petition in the Supreme Court on February 4, 1969, challenging the validity of the Government Order and also the Public Employment Act of 1957 and the Rules. The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court gave its judgement on March 28 quashing the Government Order.

As a follow-up measure of the All-Party accord, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh arranged for the accounting of Telangana surplus funds. Kumar Lalith, Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General, assessed the surplus funds as Rs.34.10 crores.

The Telangana agitation continued in the meantime. In the beginning it was leaderless. Madan Mohan, a lawyer, formed a forum known as the Telangana Praja Samithi (TPS) in February 1969. Chenna Reddy was sympathetic to these leaders. Violence increased. Firing was often employed to disperse violent crowds. The TPS organized conventions in many towns across Telangana and soon got strengthened. Chenna Reddy came out openly in support of a separate Telangana and K.V. Ranga Reddy gave his blessings to the movement. Law and order continued to deteriorate.

The Prime Minister Indira Gandhi discussed the problem with leaders of the Opposition in Parliament on April 9,1969. Except for the Swatantra Party all others did not support a separate state. The Prime Minister Indira Gandhi rejected the demand for the ouster of Kasu Brahmananda Reddy from the leadership of the Andhra Pradesh Congress.

The Prime Minister announced an Eight-Point Formula on April 11,1969 to ensure the development of Telangana. In consonance with this formula, the Centre appointed two committees:

1. Committee of Jurists under former Justice K.N. Wanchoo to suggest measures to provide constitutional safeguards for the Telangana people in the matter of public employment

2. Committee under Justice Bhargava to assess the revenue surpluses of Telangana.

In spite of these measures the agitation mounted and grew in intensity. Bandhs, hartals and processions were very frequent. Demand for a separate state became the central theme of the agitation.

The Prime Minister visited Hyderabad on June 4, 1969. She met leaders of different groups and political parties. Subsequently, then Union Home Minister, Y. B. Chavan, also visited Hyderabad to have discussions. Consensus reached on two things:

(1) The dismissal of Brahmananda Reddy's ministry.

(2) Proclamation of Presidential rule in Andhra Pradesh.

Realizing that the agitation was very strongly motivated, particularly about the dismissal of his government, Brahmananda Reddy tendered his resignation on June 27. The Congress leadership sent Congress President Nijalingappa and a senior member Kamaraj Nadar, to seek the verdict of the State Legislature Party. The Congress Legislature Party affirmed its support to Kasu Brahmananda Reddy and suggested that he should continue until normalcy was restored and a peaceful changeover should be opted, giving the leadership to someone from Telangana.

The Telangana leaders felt that agitation politics alone would not be sufficient to dethrone Brahmananda Reddy. This realization made the TPS enter into the electoral politics. It won a by-election in June 1970, defeating the Congress (R). By this time, the Congress had already split at the national level and the TPS supported the leadership of Indira Gandhi. Brahmananda Reddy also supported her.

In the December of 1970, Indira Gandhi dissolved the Lok Sabha and announced a mid-term poll. The TPS eventually contested all the 14 seats to Parliament from Telangana and won 10 out of them. In spite of her overwhelming majority in the Lok Sabha, Indira Gandhi did not give any leverage to the TPS which opted for a compromise in September 1971 and merged with the Congress (R). The deal involved:

1. Continuation of Mulki Rules;

2. Separate budget and accounts for Telangana

3. Separate Pradesh Congress Committee for Telangana

4.Resignation of Brahmananda Reddy in favor of a Chief Minister from Telangana.

The Telangana agitation did not achieve its important goal of a separate state, but secured assurance of safeguards for the region. Its achievement was quite significant. It wrested for the first time the Chief Ministership from the politically dominant Andhras. However, the new Chief Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao (former Education Minister in the State Cabinet) was an integrationist and politically a light weight in the Reddy dominated Telangana politics. Ten portfolios in his ministry went to Telangana, three of them belonging to the erstwhile TPS.

At Last, Cabinet Clears 29th State 'Telangana' Formation

By M Shafeeq / INN Live

After a lomng struggle of a separate state, Telangana is cleared by Indian cabinet as 29th stare of India. The cabinet on Thursday formally decided to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh to carve out Telangana as India’s 29th state. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde announced after a nearly two-hour cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that a decision was taken to split Andhra Pradesh to create Telangana. 

Sonia Okays Telangana State, Centre To Give Official Nod?

By Kajol Singh / INN Bureau

After the meeting with Congress MLAs, has Sonia Gandhi and the Congress decided to bite the bullet on Telangana? According to a reliable report, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has given the go-ahead for the formation of the new state after a meeting in New Delhi at which party MLAs from Andhra Pradesh were present.

In the Congress war-room in Delhi, and later at a meeting that was led by party president Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister, the focus was on whether to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh to create a new state of Telangana. Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said that a decision is "now awaited" from the government.

Telangana To Be India's 29th State Announced Today?

By Kajol Singh / INN Bureau

Hours before it is expected to sanction a new state of Telangana, the Congress is expending its energy on trying to blunt the opposition from leaders who are opposed to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. (Track live updates on our scroller)

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy is in Delhi; he has reportedly been persuaded not to resign in protest against his party's decision. He met with senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh  this afternoon and is slated to meet the PM and Sonia Gandhi later in the evening. 

Commentarty: 'The Inevitability Of Telangana State'

By Kingshuk Nag (Guest Writer)

Redrawing Andhra Pradesh’s map stems from the Congress’s electoral compulsions. Following the integration of 550 princely dominions into the Indian Union in 1956, language was chosen as the basis on which the new states were created. The only exception was the Hindi heartland which was so vast that it was considered prudent to create several states. 
    
Implicit in the creation of linguistic states was the belief that language is the basis of culture. If the same language was spoken across a state it meant that it represented homogenous culture. But this was a faulty belief to start with. In fact, Andhra Pradesh was the first state that was created on a linguistic basis.