Demanding that the state government provide employment through `outsourcing’ in various departments, to the next of kin of the around 600 persons who allegedly committed suicide for the cause of separate Telangana state, Telangana Political Joint Action Committee convenor M Kodandaram on Monday said that formation of the separate state was not possible with suicides.
“Formation of Telangana will only be possible through intensified agitation and concrete steps. Students committing suicide for the sake of Telangana will not help,” Prof Kodandaram said. However, the TPJAC chief did not quite explain how providing a government job for the kin of a suicide victim will not act as an incentive to those who are desperate enough to give up their lives for their family’s welfare. Prof Kodandaram was addressing a function of the Telangana Martyrs’ Family Vedike at the Somajiguda Press Club. Reacting to the comment by Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao that he would consume poison if the Centre does not take a positive decision on the separate Telangana statehood demand, the TPJAC chief said that he was unsure in what context had KCR made those comments. “However, KCR should not have made such serious remarks,” Prof Kodandaram said and appealed to the media not to scrutinise the TRS chief’s comments ‘through a magnifying glass.’ He added that the TPJAC would launch an awareness campaign over the suicides and take steps to prevent recurrence in the Telangana region. Prof Kodandaram also slammed the Central and state governments for not announcing the Telangana state, “despite 600 people ending their lives for the cause of statehood.” The family members of Martyrs said that the Telangana state would not be possible with the suicides and advised students in the region not to resort to such extreme steps.