After the announcement of Telangana, many Seemandhra leaders have come out in protests against Congress' decision. Within two days there have been several resignations from Ministers and Legislators opposing a separate Telangana statehood.
On Thursday, 20 MLAs, 13 Ministers and 9 MLCs resigned from their posts. The decision was made following a marathon meeting at the Club House in the Ministers' Quarters. These leaders have strongly resolved to fight against the decision on AP split.
Ministers T G Venkatesh and J C Diwakar Reddy informed reporters that they have decided to submit their resignations to Speaker Nadendla Manohar at 5 pm on Thursday. Later at 7pm, the Seemandhra ministers will explain their stand to Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy.
On the other hand, Ministers Pithani, Balraju and three others opposed the resignations. The rest are supportive of this latest development. Ganta Srinivas Rao, Nallamilli Sesha Reddy, Ramanarayana Reddy and C Ramachandriah are among those who decided to quit.
On the second day after the announcement of Telangana, Seemandhra continues to boil with protests erupting all over the region. Shut down continued for business establishments and educational institutions and buses remained off the roads, affecting normal life.
Protestors took to the streets in large numbers, demanding a retraction of the decision. Kadapa, Kurnool and Anantapur districts witnessed violence and clashes with the police. Statues of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were vandalized, in addition to effigie burning of Congress leaders.
Protestors, including political activists, lawyers, students, employees and teachers in Kurnool, Anantapur, Kadapa, Tirupati, Nellore, Chittoor, Guntur, Vijayawada, Eluru, Rajahmundry, Kakinada, Vijaynagaram, Visakhapatnam, etc continued to protest. Vijayawada Thermal Power Station (VTPS) employees protested fervently, threatening a strike as 40% of AP's electricity is routed through the plant. Even train movements were affected in some areas.
'Jai Samaikya Andhra' slogans were heard in every corner of Seemandhra!
Picture Courtesy: Eenadu
(AW: Sruthi)
