Hyderabad:
Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) has called for 24-hour shutdown on Saturday to protest what it calls anti-Telangana attitude of Andhra Pradesh government.
The group's chairman M Kodandaram called for the shutdown starting from Friday midnight after police denied permission for the peace rally while allowing government employees from Seemandhra to hold a meeting in Hyderabad on Saturday.
The group, which comprises various political and non-political groups fighting for separate statehood to Telangana, announced its decision this evening, a few hours after Osmania University students Joint Action Committee and Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS) gave separate calls for a shutdown.
Hyderabad Police denied permission to all the three groups for their rallies and meetings but allowed Andhra Pradesh Non-Gazetted Officers (APNGOs) Association to go ahead with the meeting of Seemandhra employees the same day.
A showdown between pro and anti-Telangana groups is likely as Osmania University students have vowed to go ahead with their rally, defying ban orders. The students' group has threatened to disrupt the APNGOs meeting.
Telangana comprises 10 districts including Hyderabad. Seemandhra, as Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra, has been witnessing protests and shutdowns since July 30 when Congress decided to carve out a separate Telangana state.
Seemandhra employees and other people living in Hyderabad are opposing bifurcation saying this would hit them badly.