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Azad says no move on Telangana without 'full consensus'
Ananth Krishnan, THE HINDU
Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday ruled out any moves on the Telangana issue until there was “full consensus” among political parties from across the State, warning that without a unanimous resolution being passed in the State assembly the issue “cannot move an inch”.
“The tempers are very high, the sentiments are very deep in the Telangana region, but at the same time the people of Seemandhra and Rayalseema are opposing tooth and nail [the moves to create a new State],” he said, adding that without the “full consensus and full cooperation” of legislators from both regions, a resolution will not be able to be passed.
With renewed pressure on the United Progressive Alliance government following the resignation of legislators, including from the Congress party, and fresh protests expected in coming days, Mr. Azad called for wider consultations to reach a consensus.
“The most important thing is while we have the sympathy for sentiments of people of Telangana… but at the same time, for a division of any state, you need to have a total consensus,” Mr. Azad, who is the Union Health Minister, told reporters here, during a visit to attend the first health ministers’ meeting of the BRICS countries.
On the resignation of Congress legislators, Mr. Azad said he had stressed during two-day discussions with representatives that legislators of all three regions of the State, as well as representatives of the Congress party and other national political parties, had to be taken into confidence.
“Unless we do that exercise, and have that unanimity, it will be very difficult for the federal government to take such a decision,” he said, pointing to earlier divisions of States, in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, where there was “total consensus from all political parties and assemblies passed a resolution.”
Mr. Azad said part of the difficulty in reaching consensus attributed to the lack of a “concrete solution” from the B.N. Srikrishna Committee, which submitted its report on Telangana six months ago.
“We were under the impression that the Srikrishna Committee will give at least one concrete solution,” he said. “But the Srikrishna Committee has given us six options. Six options is no solution…So we have to again start from zero.”
COMMENTS FROM LEARNED READERS OF THE HINDU WEBSITE: JULY 13, 2011:
1.
In a large democratic country like India it is virtually impossible to have a complete consensus. Do not exactly know what Azad’s dictionary reads is for 'full consensus' you may as well tell people to forget about Telangana or bifurcating any state or merging in the future. Minority region, according to Mr. Azad, will never be allowed to separate. Needless to say this is totally against the spirit of the constitution. Even if the state legislature does not express its views president can still proceed. It is an established law of the land. Please refer to this case, Babulal Parante v. State of Bombay, 1960 AIR 51, 1960 SCR (1) 605."If however, the period specified or extended expires and no views of the State Legislature are received, the second condition laid down in the proviso is fulfilled in spite of the fact that the views of the State Legislature have not been expressed." There is anything on the books to indicate that Parliament must accept or act upon the views of the State.
2.
Constitution gives powers to Central govt to create/ bifurcate states. All that is required of the President is to ask for state legislature views within a period of time. The president doesn't have to agree to state views. I am surprised Mr. Azad doesn't know that.
People have a choice to decide what is best for them. What is wrong if India has 100 states? Small country like Vietnam has more than that. In the whole world democracies, it is people who decide what they want. Did they ask Tamils when Andhras wanted to form their own state? Did they ask English people when we wanted independence? Oppressor never likes partition and his opinions need and shold not count. It is the people of Telengana's right to have their own state if they choose under Gentlemen's agreement. One language does not mean and should not mean anything. Germany and Austria speak the same language and they are divided further. Bengalis of Bangladesh and west Bengal never even think of being together. This is rubbish. By the way I am not from Telangana.
3.
I wonder what consensus was used when people of coastal andhra wanted to be separated from Tamil nadu. At that time they were surely in a minority in the Madras presidency. What consensus was used when the Hyderabad state was forcibly broken down and distributed amongst Karnataka, Maharashtra and what came on to become Andhra Pradesh. Why talk about consensus now when there was no precedence of consensus? Why change the rules of the game? what guarantee does a person from Telangana have that he will not be ridiculed for his language and culture and he will not be short changed in the new dispensation. The Government must stop idle talk and put and end to the confusion at the earliest. Keeping the issue unresolved serves the interest of only vested and issueless politicians.
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