TRS chief critical, situation in Andhra Pradesh tense

Hyderabad, Dec 9 (ANI): The condition of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K Chandrashekhar Rao continues to deteriorate and Andhra Pradesh was on the boil today. Rao's threat to fast unto death over a demand for a separate Telangana State continues for the eleventh day today, and doctors have described his medical condition as critical.

Meanwhile, TRS supporters have aggressively taken their campaign forward for a separate State.

Rao's family and supporters have pleaded with him to end his fast, but the TRS chief is determined and adamant that only signals from the Center can make him change his decision.

With the situation outside Osmania University and the Andhra Pradesh Assembly particularly tense, security in Hyderabad has been increased. On December 10, all the groups in favour of the Telangana cause have called for a "Chalo Assembly" shutdown.

Police have imposed Section 144 in the region. There are around 12,500 policemen deployed outside Osmania University in anticipation of the unrest. To add to that, armed reserve police have been summoned from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to work with local policemen and security forces to prevent protesters from entering Hyderabad.

At Osmania University on Tuesday, the students defied a government order to vacate their hostels. Professors also threatened to quit if the police were not withdrawn from the campus. Students were baton charged by police on Monday.

The university closed down last week till the December 18 as a precaution against violence, but it remains in many ways the epicenter of the Telangana protest.

The Telangana issue is expected to dominate proceedings in the state assembly today as well. Earlier on Tuesday, the assembly was adjourned for the day following the raging of the Telangana issue.

The TRS wants Chief Minister K Rosiah to move a resolution on Telangana, so that parties can vote on the matter. However, this is dangerous for the ruling Congress, because this could expose its own divisions on the issue.

As Andhra's government struggles to maintain law and order, Chief Minister, K Rosaiah, has said it's upto the Congress' central command in Delhi to decide the issue. The government fears that reports of deteriorating health of TRS chief will incite violence in the state that is already simmering over the Telangana movement.

K Rosiah is expected to visit New Delhi today to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi and seek her decision on the issue. (ANI)