Will Hyderabad become Union Territory?
SPECULATION RIFE AFTER FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S RECENT MOVE IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR
Speculation rife after federal government’s Kashmir move
The ongoing tussle between the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has assumed a new dimension with strong speculation that the Narendra Modi government is planning to declare Hyderabad a Union Territory as a check on the TRS and the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM).
The speculation has gained momentum after the federal government scrapped Article 370 of the constitution downgrading Jammu and Kashmir from a full fledged state to Union Territory to be ruled directly by the Centre.
As the BJP was riding a wave of nationalistic sentiments over the Kashmir move, its leaders feel that declaring Hyderabad a Union Territory will also deliver immense political benefits in Telangana.
Hyderabad has a unique political status in southern India with a “Muslim image” due to its significant minority population, its historical background of Qutub Shahi and Nizam rule as well as being the citadel of a Muslim political party MIM. In the present context “global city” Hyderabad had also emerged as a growth engine driving the Telangana economy and giving the state a distinct edge.
A lot is going to be heard about Hyderabad and its history over the next month with BJP deciding to celebrate ‘Hyderabad Liberation Day’ on
September 17 on a grand scale. It is aggressively targeting the TRS as a party “unwilling to celebrate the historic day”. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be the Chief Guest of the celebrations in Hyderabad and will hoist the national flag to mark the day when the Indian government brought the Nizam’s rule to an end through Police Action in 1948.
Though Hyderabad was merged into the Indian union under Congress rule, the BJP gives the credit to the then Union home minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. In this context the speculation of the federal government thinking of making Hyderabad a Union Territory has stirred a hornet’s nest.
While indirectly fanning such speculation, the BJP leaders were not willing to make any official comment. However the ruling TRS and other parties have warned of repercussions of such a move.
Newly-appointed Telangana State Planning Commission chairman and former MP B. Vinod Kumar said that any such move would spark anger among the masses of Telangana. “I don’t think the BJP will dare to make any such move”, he said.