Supporters of new Indian state threaten to step up protests

HYDERABAD, India (AFP) - Supporters of the creation of a new Indian state vowed Saturday to step up protests unless the government comes up with a clear time-frame for implementation of the contentious plan.
Their statement came days after New Delhi said the partition of Andhra Pradesh in southern India to create the proposed new state of Telangana needed more consultation following a fierce political backlash.
If the centre does not start the statehood process by Monday, the protests will be intensified, said C. Kodandaramhe, the head of the Joint Action Committee, which is spearheading the drive for Telangana state.
We will stage an indefinite strike starting Tuesday (in the 10 districts of Telangana), Kodandaramhe told reporters in Andra Pradesh capital Hyderabad.
Kodandaramhe said he wanted the national government to set the ball rolling for a new state by laying out a clear timeframe for its creation.
The region of Telangana, which covers much of Andhra Pradeshs poor tribal belt, includes Hyderabad, known as an important Indian high-tech centre.
Andhra Pradesh has been rocked by frequent, sometimes violent protests, for and against the creation of Telangana since the national governments initial announcement in favour of the new state in mid-December.
The federal government has dispatched extra paramilitary forces to Telangana to try to keep order in Andhra Pradesh, which is Indias fifth-largest state in terms of territory.
On Saturday, demonstrators supporting the new state staged rallies in parts of Telangana but there was no violence, police said.
Meanwhile, deepening the political chaos in Andhra Pradesh, state governor N.D. Tiwari resigned after a local TV channel aired footage of the 86-year-old politician purportedly showing him in a sexual encounter with three women.
The governor, who has called the TV footage a tissue of lies, resigned on grounds of ill-health, said the politicians spokesman Aryandra Sharma.
The decision to approve the long-standing demand for statehood came after a regional politician, K. Chandrasekhar Rao, staged a hunger strike.
The move has spurred demands for statehood by other regional groups in ethnically diverse India, which also has a host of separatist movements.
Faced by the growing political storm, Indias Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Wednesday wide-ranging consultations were needed with all political parties and groups in Andhra Pradesh before the states creation.
The ruling Congress party has denied the national government is backtracking on its pledge for the new state, which is championed by many locals who allege government neglect of the drought-prone Telangana region.
But National Information Minister Ambika Soni said New Delhi could take a decision on the states creation only after proper consensus-building.
Formation of the state could take years with approval required from both the Andhra Pradesh state assembly and Indias national parliament.