Telangana JAC appeals public representatives to quit by August 6

Hinting at further hardening of its stand on separate statehood issue, the Telangana political Joint Action Committee (JAC) today appealed to the public representatives of the region to put down papers by August 6 and participate in the ongoing agitation.

"We are intensifying the agitation in such a way that the administration would come to a standstill. What we appeal to the public representatives is that you submit resignations from your posts by August 6, so that you can participate in the agitation. If the resignations don't come, then people would be forced to mount pressure on them," JAC Convener M Kodandaram told reporters here.

The AP assembly speaker had recently rejected the mass resignations of MLAs, submitted earlier, as per a conspiracy to weaken the separate statehood movement and to drive a wedge between the people and the leaders, he claimed.

The proposed all-people's strike in Telangana would begin on August 8 and intensified in a phased manner, Kodandaram added.

The JAC convener commended the Telangana MPs, who had resigned from their posts and are not attending the ongoing monsoon session of parliament.

He took exception to the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram's comments that the state assembly needs to reiterate its previous resolution seeking deletion of Clause 14 (F) of Presidential Order of 1975.

The clause makes Hyderabad a free zone for employment, while the supporters of separate statehood movement demand that the state capital be made part of other Telangana districts.