'If Cong declares Telangana, it will rule Telangana'

It’s still unclear whether the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government would declare Telangana as a separate state. However, the mood appears to be upbeat in the region and they feel that statehood would soon become a reality.

Let us consider Telangana is granted immediately. What would be the immediate changes? K T Rama Rao, Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader and son of party chief K Chandrashekhar Rao, and Dr Prithviraj, Telangana Students Joint Action Committee chief, explain to Rediff.com what the immediate changes would be in the event of Telangana being declared as a separate state.

K T Rama Rao says that all the natural resources in Telangana would automatically be tapped and their potential would by default go to the people of the region who would benefit a lot.

“The political and bureaucratic power and the number of jobs and opportunities would go in favour of the people of Telangana and they would get a lion’s share.

“The benefits of a new state being created would unleash a fresh energy and boost the enthusiasm among the youth who constitute 65 per cent of the region. This power will be channelised which would contribute to accelerated development of the region,” he says.

“Hyderabad being the economic engine would see a lot more activity with regard to real estate and other services. We would have more avenues. Hyderabad which has always been a cosmopolitan city and it has become a home for many communities. After Telangana it would become more vibrant with a lot more opportunities.

“The biggest change would happen culturally. The entire Telangana issue is about the assertion of identity. Like how (former Andhra Pradesh chief minister) N T Rama Rao created a Telugu identity, the same would happen once Telangana is formed. The heritage of Telangana will be asserted like never before after the formation of the state,” he adds.

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Dr Prithviraj notes caste equations would change dramatically if Telangana is formed.

“This would be a honeymoon period for the Reddy community and the Velmas -- the caste that KCR belongs to -- in Telangana. If the Congress declares Telangana then the entire Reddy community in the region would back the party and parts of the Velma community would also follow suit.

“The Telugu Desam Party, which has some base in the Telangana region, will not be able to fight an election under Chandrababu Naidu once the state is formed. The people will not accept him at all since they consider him to a big opponent of the movement,” he says.

“The TRS will survive for a short term since the people feel that it is the only party which has a sentimental attachment to the movement. However, in the long run it will search for an identity. But if the Congress declares Telangana today, then KCR will need to work hard to save his own seat,” Dr Prithviraj says.

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On the Bharatiya Janata Party, Dr Prithviraj says, the attachment is more about Narendra Modi. “The youth in particular support him, but that is on a national level. Their prospects in the region would change only if the Congress does not give Telangana and a National Democratic Alliance government ends up declaring the state”.

“The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen will be the worst hit party especially after Akbaruddin Owaisi's controversial speech. Barring the Old City of Hyderabad there is not much of a communal divide and all communities are united in their fight for Telangana. However, Owaisi’s speech has upset a lot of Muslims who feel that he is trying to divide the people on the basis of religion. This party may not have a great standing after the formation of the state,” he notes.

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On the other hand, if the Congress declares Telangana, then it would rule Telangana, he points out. “However this would be only short term as in Telangana a regional party and not the TRS would be formed in the years to come and that would be the dominant force,” he says.

“Hyderabad was more of a gated community where only those with business interests from Andhra and Rayalseema were allowed. However the gates would open up to the entire country once Telangana is formed. In the rest of the state, if the Congress manages to enter into a pact with YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy it would end up having a major share of the votes which would comprise the Reddys and the Kapus.

“The Kapu community which has big leaders such as Bosta Sathyanarayana and Chiranjeevi would continue to support the Congress while the Kammas would side with the TDP only.

“The price of land will also go up. Apart from Hyderabad there would be a lot of development in other parts of Telangana and the people are not averse to investments from people of Delhi or Gujarat who have been wanting to invest. This would increase the price of land and Warrangal would become the next most important city in Telangana,” Dr Prithviraj says.

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