Srikrishna report by Dec 31; cases spiked, MPs end fast (Roundup)

HYDERABAD/NEW DELHI - A report on the contentious issue of statehood for Telangana will be presented by its Dec 31 deadline, it was announced Tuesday, as a beleaguered Andhra Pradesh government bowed to demands from nine fasting Congress MPs and spiked all cases filed during protests for and against a separate state.

“The report will be given to the government before Dec 31. We will make sure it is given before Dec 31,” Justice B.N. Srikrishna, a retired Supreme Court judge who heads the panel, said in New Delhi, as tensions gripped the sprawling state in anticipation.

He described his report as “comprehensive” but declined to elaborate.

This is the first occasion in recent times that a government-appointed panel will submit its report within the stipulated time-frame.

The Srikrishna committee was set up in February to study, among other things, the situation in Andhra Pradesh in the aftermath of the protests for a separate Telangana state and the counter-protests that virtually crippled the state for weeks.

The committee met over 100 groups including political parties, intellectuals, politicians and retired bureaucrats and visited all the 23 districts of the state.

Those wanting a separate Telangana, which will be made up of 10 Andhra districts including Hyderabad, say the region has remained backward. Those opposing it say that Andhra Pradesh should remain united.

Earlier Tuesday, the Andhra Pradesh government withdrew all criminal cases filed during protests for and against a separate Telangana state.

The government decided to withdraw 967 pending cases after a series of discussions Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy had with his ministers and other ruling party leaders. Other cases were withdrawn earlier.

The cases were booked between November 2009 and September 2010.

Amid mounting tensions, the government Monday sought to buy peace by withdrawing 135 cases against 834 students. But the fasting Congress MPs, who have embarassed the ruling party, refused to call off their protest until everyone was let off.

The chief minister deputed three ministers from Telangana to talk to the MPs but they remained adamant.

The government earlier this month announced the withdrawal of 562 cases against 2,436 people but decided against taking back other cases, saying they were of serious nature.

In Hyderabad, Rajya Sabha member K. Keshava Rao led the fasting MPs.

The Andhra government, fearing violence once the Srikrishna report is submitted, has sought 125 companies of central forces. About 50 companies, or about 4,500 personnel, have been despatched.