Feb 7: A crucial day for Telangana, AP

The Teleangana issue is expected to heat up further with two major meetings scheduled for February 7.

While 300 students supporting Telangana will complete their padayatra and hold a massive meeting at Warangal on February 7, the United Andhra Students Joint Action Committee will conduct a meeting at Hyderabad on the same day.

Meanwhile, there is a clash on between the two factions regarding the role the committee to be formed by the Centre would have to play in the process.

While both parties are agreeable to the formation of a committee, the agendas appear to be completely different. The persons supporting united Andhra Pradesh told rediff.com that the committee must be formed, but it should study the problems and make recommendations to improve the situation.

However, the people of Telangana say that although it is unnecessary, the committee should be formed to recommend the formation of a separate state.

Both parties will now make a final push to meet their demands on February 7.

The leaders who will form part of the Hyderabad meeting said that there is no point in dividing the state.

"We must stay united as Telugu speaking people. Only when we stay united, we can demand the best from the Centre," they said.

Meanwhile, Subhash Reddy, who is coordinating the students' padayatra, said that they are covering 495 kilometres and people from both north and south Telangana will come together in Warangal and hold a meeting.

He said that the Union government has no option but to grant a separate state.

"We hope that the announcement will be good. Come to any village in Telangana, however big or small the village is, there is a demonstration on. Moreover, there have been a number of suicides almost totaling 150 since the agitation began. Who will account for the loss of those lives?" he said.

The Centre too is under immense pressure to act on this issue, since there are various reports, which suggest that if no decision is taken soon, the Naxal movement will build up, and the law and order situation will deteriorate.

The Naxals are constantly on the look to make inroads into the movement, but the Telangana leaders have kept them at bay, since they want a different colour to the movement.

The Telangana Members of Legislative Assembly too have appraised the Centre of this growing danger and the Union government is taking no chances with law and order issues.

All the 119 public representatives and 17 Members of Parliament from the Telangana region have decided to remain united in their cause and push the Centre for the formation of a separate state.

Meanwhile, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party, which had not taken any stand on the Telangana issue so far, appears to have come around and now says that it wants to know what benefits the minorities would get if Telangana state is formed.