WikiLeaks reports the then Deputy Speaker Nadendla Manohar (now the Speaker) discussed with US consul general the situation in Telangana and the issue of a separate statehood. The files disclose that the US learnt through local contacts and press reports of a fear among the police that the Naxalites were on the path of resurgence in Andhra Pradesh by fomenting trouble during the Telangana agitation.
In the latter part of 2009 as TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao spearheaded the movement for statehood for Telangana and the Centre acquiesced to his demands with a statement on the roadmap for Telangana, the US administration appears to have closely followed it and sought opinions of academics K C Reddy, the then chairman of
AP State Council Of Higher Educa tion, and Deputy Speaker Nadendla Manohar through its consulate-general.
In the expose on the US administration's coverage of Telangana issue, the WikiLeaks speaks of US knowledge based on local contacts and press reports that law enforcement believes CPI (Maoist) elements are helping to organise some of the activities of Telangana student bodies. The WikiLeaks has published the cables sent on the situation by the Consulate General office in Hyderabad.
(http:// wikileaks.org/cable/ 2010/01/ 10HYDERABAD2.html). The cables were sent in the name of Consul General Cornelis Keur. Nadendla Manohar, then Deputy Speaker of AP Legislative Assembly, "told CongenOff (Consulate General Office) that the police are convinced that, like in 1969, the current unrest over Telangana statehood will result in a successful recruiting campaign by Naxalite forces in the region." Mr Manohar, as per the WikiLeaks, noted that many former Naxalite leaders emerged from the earlier agitations and they garnered significant sympathy throughout Telangana due to their support of statehood.
Mr Manohar, who represents the Tenali constituency in Coastal Andhra's Guntur district, also remarked that many of the "radical members" of the Telangana students joint action committee were 30 plus year old students from the Madiga community, who were well past future career concerns and would continue to agitate whether or not the academic year was lost. The WikiLeaks also covers how the US files speak of active role being taken up by the student organisations and political joint action committee (T JAC).
AP State Council Of Higher Educa tion, and Deputy Speaker Nadendla Manohar through its consulate-general.
In the expose on the US administration's coverage of Telangana issue, the WikiLeaks speaks of US knowledge based on local contacts and press reports that law enforcement believes CPI (Maoist) elements are helping to organise some of the activities of Telangana student bodies. The WikiLeaks has published the cables sent on the situation by the Consulate General office in Hyderabad.
(http:// wikileaks.org/cable/ 2010/01/ 10HYDERABAD2.html). The cables were sent in the name of Consul General Cornelis Keur. Nadendla Manohar, then Deputy Speaker of AP Legislative Assembly, "told CongenOff (Consulate General Office) that the police are convinced that, like in 1969, the current unrest over Telangana statehood will result in a successful recruiting campaign by Naxalite forces in the region." Mr Manohar, as per the WikiLeaks, noted that many former Naxalite leaders emerged from the earlier agitations and they garnered significant sympathy throughout Telangana due to their support of statehood.
Mr Manohar, who represents the Tenali constituency in Coastal Andhra's Guntur district, also remarked that many of the "radical members" of the Telangana students joint action committee were 30 plus year old students from the Madiga community, who were well past future career concerns and would continue to agitate whether or not the academic year was lost. The WikiLeaks also covers how the US files speak of active role being taken up by the student organisations and political joint action committee (T JAC).
Telangana Students Roar But Don't Bite -------------------------------------- ¶3. (U) The TS-JAC invited students from colleges throughout the region to participate in the January 3 "Vidyarthi Garjana" rally on the campus of Osmania University (OU) in Hyderabad. Student organizers had predicted that a massive mobilization would bring as many as 500,000 people to the rally. In the end, approximately 80,000 students participated in a surprisingly well organized and peaceful outpouring of support for groups championing Telangana statehood.
(U) SUMMARY: Longtime Congress party stalwart and underperforming Governor of Andhra Pradesh (AP) Narayan Dutt Tiwari resigned following a sex scandal involving allegedly trafficked women. Two days later, Chhattisgarh Governor ELS Narasimhan, a former Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief and fluent Telugu speaker, was sworn in as Governor of Andhra Pradesh. Media speculation about the timing of the revelations in the midst of the controversy over Telangana (ref A) has led some observers to question whether it will further delay decisive GoI action on the statehood issue. END SUMMARY.
(SBU) Rampant media speculation about the timing of the revelations ascribes either pro- or anti-statehood motives to ABN Andhra Jyothi, which was inaugurated on October 15, 2009. Some analysts cite this media expose as an attempt to delay the creation of a new state, pointing to the friendship between the channel's owner, Vemuri Radhakrishna, and N. Chandrababu Naidu, leader of the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Naidu, a former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, has seemed reluctant to reaffirm his party's commitment to separate statehood. Other analysts point the presence of Andhra Jyothi Editor, K. Srinivas, at a pro-statehood event sponsored by the U.S.-based Telangana Development Forum and postulate that Narisimhan's ascension to governor cements the case for statehood. A journalist from a rival news organization claiming close ties to the reporters of ABN Andhra Jyothi dismissed the pro-and anti-statehood theories - the true motive of the expose was to HYDERABAD 00000138 002.2 OF 002 capture as much market share as possible for the new station by putting out a sensational story. He added that this story has been in development for six months and the timing is just opportune.
A Governor Takes Flight ----------------------- ¶2. (U) On December 26, Narayan Dutt Tiwari, the Governor of AP, tendered his resignation to GoI President Pratibha Patil. The resignation, accepted immediately, came a day after the 24-hour Telugu language news channel ABN Andhra Jyothi aired an expose embroiling the Governor in a sex scandal. The report purported that Governor Tiwari and officials at Raj Bhavan were trafficking young women from Uttarakhand on the pretext of employment; these women were then forced to sate the sexual advances of the Governor. The channel broadcast a grainy video allegedly showing Governor Tiwari engaged in flagrante with three young women at his official residence. In a scene reminiscent of the recently cancelled march on the State Assembly in support of Telangana statehood (ref B), Women's groups immediately began to protest at the gate of the Raj Bhavan. Media reports indicate that the decision to demand that Governor Tiwari vacate his post came from New Delhi following a high-level United Progressive Alliance (UPA) meeting chaired by Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
An Ace Reliever --------------- ¶3. (SBU) On December 27, the GoI asked current Chhattisgarh Governor ELS Narasimhan to accept the additional charge of Governor for Andhra Pradesh. A fluent Telugu speaker, Narasimhan reportedly attended a meeting with GoI Home Minister ¶P. Chidambaram to discuss the issue of Telangana statehood a few days prior to the current controversy. As a former Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief, analysts expect him to provide the Congress leadership with more accurate information and better insight into the current political turmoil in the state than the outgoing Tiwari. [COMMENT: In meetings with Congenoffs over the past two years, Governor Tiwari appeared at times to have a shaky grip on current affairs in the state. END COMMENT]. The Chief Justice of the AP High Court administered the oath of office on December 28. Governor Narasimhan emerged from the 1968 batch of the AP cadre of the Indian Police Service (IPS).
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