Andhra Parties To Decide Telangana Activists

Strange are the ways of the Telangana government headed by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. His decision to convene an all-party meeting on June 4…

Strange are the ways of the Telangana government headed by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.

His decision to convene an all-party meeting on June 4 to discuss the identification and recognition of Telangana movement activists has triggered sharp criticism and raised several fundamental questions over the criteria being adopted for the exercise.

The government has formally written to various political parties inviting them to participate in the meeting aimed at formulating a framework for recognising individuals who took part in the Telangana statehood movement.

However, there is no clarification from the government on the most basic issue — who exactly qualifies as a “Telangana movement activist.”

There is no clearly defined framework or eligibility criterion in place before initiating such consultations.

Questions are being raised over whether activists would be identified based on criminal cases registered during the agitation, media reports and video footage of participation in protests, or records of alleged police harassment during the movement.

There is also uncertainty over who would certify an individual’s participation in the agitation.

The Telangana movement was not confined to political activists alone. During the Sakala Janula Samme and other phases of the agitation, employees, workers, students, professionals and people from various sections of society participated in large numbers across Telangana.

As a result, questions are being raised over how the government intends to distinguish and categorise specific individuals as “movement activists.”

What is worse, the composition of the invitees to the all-party meeting also appears ridiculous. Analysts are questioning the basis on which parties were invited to participate — whether it was determined by Election Commission recognition, party registration in Telangana, electoral participation, or vote share.

Parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and CPI(M) were also included in the list of invitees for the all-party meeting, though these parties either had no direct role in the Telangana movement or had opposed the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in the past.

Even the National People’s Party was included, though it has no relevance to Telangana politics. At the same time, certain regional outfits and Telangana-centric political formations were excluded from the all-party meeting.

For instance, there was no place for Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS), headed by Prof M Kodandaram, who spearheaded the Telangana movement as the chairman of the Telangana Joint Action Committee.

Even newly formed Telangana Rakshana Sena (TRS) founder Kalvakuntla Kavitha was not invited.

Similarly, parties like the All India Forward Bloc, which has an electoral presence in Telangana local bodies, were not considered for the meeting, while parties with little or no political activity in the state received invitations.

“This clearly shows the non-seriousness of the state government in handling Telangana sentiment and movement legacy issues. Unless the government first establishes a transparent and widely accepted definition of a Telangana activist, the proposed exercise could face serious credibility challenges,” an analyst said.