State News And Discussion - 3

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As Andhra protests snowball, PM says ‘nothing in haste’

pioneer.com

Nidhi Sharma/Omar Farooq | New Delhi/Hyderabad



Amidst snowballing protests and a political backlash from its own legislators, the Congress-led UPA Government on Friday gave clear indications that it would wait for tempers to cool down before acting on creation of Telangana. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured Congress’ MPs hailing from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra Pradesh that no decision would be taken in haste.



Violence erupted across 13 districts of Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra Pradesh on the strike call given by political parties and students’ organisations protesting against Telangana on Friday. Normal life was derailed totally as shops and business establishments, educational institutions, petrol pumps and other facilities remained closed and roads wore a deserted look in cities across the two regions.



Angry mobs targeted buses and other vehicles. The police arrested at least 200 people in connection with stray incidents of violence. Effigies of TRS leader K Chandrasekhar Rao were burnt in Kadapa, Vijaywada, Anantapur and port city of Visakhapatanam.



Seeing KCR’s success, other political leaders also threatened to go on fast-unto-death for a united Andhra Pradesh. Lagdapati Rajagopal, the first Congress MP to resign, and late Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy’s younger brother YS Vivekananda Reddy have expressed such [color="#FF0000"]intentions[/color].



In the backdrop of increasing protests, the Prime Minister convened a meeting of 20-odd non-Telangana MPs in Parliament on Friday morning and heard their views patiently. Emerging from the meeting, Minister of State and Andhra Pradesh MP MM Pallam Raju said, “We conveyed the sentiments of people of Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra Pradesh to the Prime Minister. He assured us that no decision will be taken in haste and we will definitely keep our sentiments in mind.”



The MPs conveyed to the Prime Minister that there had been a spate of resignations by legislators because they were finding it difficult to explain the situation to their constituents. “We have told the Prime Minister that we are finding it difficult to go back to our constituents as the mood is for a united Andhra Pradesh,” Raju said.



At the same time, the resignation drama continued unabated even on the second day of protest. Elected representatives at different levels of the political pyramid cutting across party lines have resigned from their posts in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.