Hyderabad, December 30
Barring sporadic incidents, the Telangana bandh today called by the all-party Joint Action Committee (JAC) in support of the separate statehood demand was peaceful.

There were no incidents of violence and the bandh was totally peaceful till noon, DGP R R Girish Kumar told reporters here.

However, normal life was paralysed across the Telangana region as the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) and the Railways suspended services.

The pro-Telangana agitators organised road blockades and dharnas in the districts of Telangana region. The JAC leaders also held a rally at Baghlingampalli locality here but they were taken into custody by the police.

"All parties have come under one umbrella and formed the JAC. We demand that the Centre table a bill in Parliament for formation of separate Telangana state immediately. Otherwise, we will intensify the agitation," JAC convener Prof Kodandaram told reporters.

"It is the strong demand of four crore Telangana people to have the separate state. The Centre should take immediate steps for the formation of Telangana," senior TDP leader N Janardhana Reddy said.

The rally was also attended by leaders of TRS, Congress and other JAC constituents.

The Osmania University, the nerve-centre of the statehood movement by the students, remained peaceful. Slogan- shouting students continued to hold relay hunger strikes in the university campus amid tight security arrangements.

Meanwhile, the APSRTC suspended over 9,000 buses plying in the Telangana region. Thousands of city buses in Hyderabad were cancelled due to which passengers had a tough time in reaching their destinations. Many of them were stranded at various places.

Schools, colleges, shops and other commercial establishments remained closed in Hyderabad and other places in the Telangana region.

BJP leaders, including state party president Bandaru Dattatreya, and activists held a sit-in outside the office of the DGP demanding that alleged false cases against students and other Telangana agitators be withdrawn.

Heavy police force was deployed across the region to avoid any untoward incidents and prohibitory orders were clamped in Hyderabad and other places.

In Karimnagar district, the agitators set afire a lorry at Godavarikhani last night. The bandh supporters attacked the Provident Fund office and ground water department office in Karimnagar.

New Delhi, December 30
In an effort to find a way out of the Telengana muddle, Home Minister P Chidambaram on January 5 has invited eight “recognised” parties in Andhra Pradesh for “wide-ranging” discussions to resolve the ongoing imbroglio for a separate state.

Chidambaram today sent an invitation to leaders of Congress, TDP, Telangana Rashtra Samiti, CPI, CPM, Praja Rajyam, BJP and MIM for discussions on the issue. The move follows his December-23 statement in which he promised to hold “wide ranging consultations with all political parties and groups on the issue”.

The Telengana entanglement has proved to be a major embarrassment for the Congress with visible fissures in the ruling party in the state, as also other political parties, along regional lines.

While on one side is the group which wants immediate steps on formation of the separate state, on the other side is the faction that wants Andhra to remain united. The state has suffered losses worth around Rs 15 crore in Telangana-related incidents since the agitation began a month ago.

There have been detailed discussions in the government and at the highest political level within the Congress to find a way out of the tricky situation. The decision to hold consultations with all parties on the Telengana issue early next year was taken at a party core group.

The main issue would be to arrive at some common point. It is important to do so because at a meeting of all political parties convened by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah on December 7 a consensus emerged on the question of formation of a separate State of Telangana. It was on receipt of minutes of the meeting, that the Centre announced the formation of the separate Telengana state. However later all parties, including the Congress, found themselves split down the middle on the issue. Parties like the TDP and the Praja Rajyam Party, which earlier pledged open support to a Telangana state, did a U-turn.

“The decision to hold talks is a step forward. But we would like to know the scope and purpose of the exercise. We can't give a final assessment until we know that," JAC convener Prof. Kodandaram said, reacting to the Chidambaram's invitation.