HYDERABAD, INDIA : The Indian City of Hydreabad shut down as thousand protesters demanded a separate state in southern India, a campaign that could potentially hurt the stability of the governing coalition which already struggled due to graft scandals.
In Hyderabad is a business hub for India and capital of Andhra Pardesh, where all business
were shut, here global firms including Microsoft and Google have their main India offices, as thousands protested including lawyers and businessmen.
were shut, here global firms including Microsoft and Google have their main India offices, as thousands protested including lawyers and businessmen.
The four-decade-old demand for Telengana state to be carved out of the economically less developed part of Andhra Pradesh gathered momentum last year after the federal government, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Congress party, accepted it in principle.
But the decision triggered a backlash from those opposed to breaking up Andhra Pradesh, a politically important state which sends the highest number of lawmakers from southern India to the federal parliament, forcing the ruling Congress-led coalition to backtrack.
On Thursday, supporters of creating Telengana took to the streets in a show of force.
A few protesters shouting slogans broke through barricades set up around Hyderabad, prompting police to fire tear gas.
