Parliamentarians from the Bodoland region in Assam staging a protest in Parliament premises.
The uproar over the creation of a separate Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh resonated in Parliament today with many Members of Parliament who were against the government's decision raising slogans in both the Houses.
Rajya Sabha was briefly adjourned after protests by these MPs. In the Lok Sabha, many leaders were heard shouting, "We want justice."
Many banners were also seen in both Houses of Parliament demanding statehood for other regions. Parliamentarians from the Bodoland region in Assam staged a protest in Parliament premises with their demand for a separate statehood. "Bodoland's demand is a very genuine and legitimate demand. It is the right of the Bodo people. If they can give Telangana then why can't we have Bodoland? We want similar kind of justice," said S K Bwismuthiary, an MP from Kokrajhar in Assam.
The government's announcement last week that Telangana will be created as India's 29th state has upset many Congressmen from Andhra Pradesh. The ministers said they had been assured that a high-level panel would be set up to address concerns of coastal and southern Andhra Pradesh. Several Congress ministers and lawmakers from these two regions have been on a resignation spree, amid angry protests outside their homes since the announcement.
The party has been on a firefighting mode since it announced the creation of Telangana. The new state will take at least six months to become a reality.
Residents and leaders of Telangana, which includes the IT hub of Hyderabad, are celebrating the fruition of a five-decade-long movement for statehood, but the other two regions of the state, coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, say they have been betrayed.