The United Andhra Pradesh Students’ Joint Action Committee (UAP-SJAC)’s call for closure of educational institutions on Friday in support of its demand to keep the State united evoked good response.
Students of Acharya Nagarjuna and Vignan Universities and many other institutions stayed away from class work in protest against attempts to break the State.
The SJAC held the Congress party responsible for the fresh reign of uncertainty prevailing in the State in the wake of the all-party meeting on Telangana Statehood issue held in New Delhi.
The high-profile deliberations were expected to come up with an amicable solution to the problem but instead the decision was postponed by another month.
This does not augur well for the State which was beset by the agitations in favour of Telangana and those opposing it, JAC State coordinator M. Venkata Ramana said at Acharya Nagarjuna University (ANU).
He demanded that the Central and the State Governments should break the deadlock at least by the end of January so that peace returns to the trouble-torn State and the best thing to do is to keep the State united.
People of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema were asked to reject the parties which espoused the cause of Telangana.
Samaikyandhra Parirakshana Samiti Convener Md. Hidayat, JAC Convener Pavan Teja and others participated in the stir.
Buses of various engineering colleges were stopped at Sankar Vilas, Chuttugunta and market centres by youths fighting for unified State.
Leaders of Samaikyandhra Joint Action Committee (S-JAC) has resolved to organise protest programmes in all education institutions for the next 30 days, to press their demand for United Andhra Pradesh.
In the all party meeting organised here on Friday, the JAC leaders expressed confidence that the Centre will take the decision in favour of a United State (Samaikyandhra).
However, the leaders threatened to intensify the agitation if the UPA Government was prepared to bifurcate the State. The JAC will organise a meeting in Vijayawada with one lakh Samaikyandhra supporters very soon, said the Samaikyandhra Samrakshana Samithi State Convenor N. Srihari.
YSR Congress Party leader T. Shakuntala blamed the Congress Party for keeping Telangana issue pending for the last three years. She criticised the Telugu Desam Party for not telling their stand on formation of separate State even in the all party meeting held at New Delhi on Friday.
“The YSRC will stand by the decision announced by Kadapa MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy at Idupulapaya on Telangana State. The party will not object for any decision taken by the Centre on this issue”, said Ms. Shakuntala.
In Ongle, coinciding with the all-party meeting, an education institutions bandh was observed in Prakasam. Students under the banner Samaikhyandhra Vidyarthi Joint Action Committee (SVJAC) which called for bandh, took out protest marches in Ongole, Chirala, Markapur, Kandukur, Kanigiri and Pamuru among other towns. The students marched from the Rao and Naidu Engineering College here touching among other educational institutions, the Acharya Nagarjuna University P.G.Centre, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, ABM Degree College, C.S.R Sarma college en route shouting slogans in support of ‘Samaikyandhra’.
SVJAC State co-convenor Rayapati Jagdeesh welcomed the stand of the CPI(M) and AIMIM favouring united Andhra Pradesh. He took strong objection to the TDP’s stand that it stood by its earlier submission to the Cabinet sub-committee headed by then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in 2008 in favour of Telangana.
