Agriculture Minister Kanna Lakshminarayana blamed regional parties for the painful decision taken by Congress Working Committee (CWC) to concede Statehood to Telangana. The Congress high command had no alternative except to endorse the formation of Telangana State as it was the regional parties that fuelled the movement in their own interests.
Addressing leaders of Samaikhyandhra political and student Joint Action Committees, A.P NGOs Association and others who laid siege to his residence at Kannavarithota here on Thursday, Mr. Lakshminarayana said the Congress Governments had successfully put out equally vociferous Telangana and Jai Andhra agitations but the situation has become problematic in 1980s with the advent of regional parties which started espousing the cause of Telangana for achieving their goals rather than in the genuine interest of masses there.
Some other local parties gave a fillip to the Telangana movement and the tide has eventually turned in favour of the separate State.
When the protestors demanded that he should tender his resignation, Mr. Lakshminarayana said he was prepared to put in his papers if that would help in the reversal of the CWC’s decision to divide the State and reiterated that he was committed to retaining of Andhra Pradesh as one State. Earlier, scores of supporters of the unified State tried to meet the Minister at his residence while demanding his resignation but they were stopped at a distance by armed policemen. After about an hour, the Minister came out and had a word with the protestors.
