A new Telangana party looms as dissension hits TRS

The GO is of special significance to the Telangana region, which is fighting for statehood. Drafted in 1985, it hasn’t been completely implemented as yet though announcements are routinely made. Last year, for instance, the Government said the GO would include the Police Department too—meaning that most of junior officer ranks would be filled by locals.

The issue is now a political weapon. A former vice-chancellor of the Kakatiya University, Jayashanker has been an outspoken proponent of Telangana since 1952. Sources say he is unhappy with KCR’s “high-handedness”. The TRS chief was also involved in a public battle with Narendra and other dissidents. Many of them soon found themselves facing charges for human trafficking after “documents were anonymously delivered” to the media and police offices.

Jayashanker is expected to use the GO 610 imbroglio to leverage his own new party that will fight for Telangana issues. According to sources, the new party will not include Narendra, who, it is believed, is also toying with the idea of setting up his own Telangana-based party.

While the Congress Government is making efforts to implement the GO, officials say it is bogged down by “issues of technical feasibility”. An official said that it would prove difficult to transfer all state government officials from Telangana back to their home districts. This will also create a problem of quality. Not to talk of the fact that many officials are approaching their retirement age.