A big public meeting in support of Samaikyandhra is planned here on September 17.
After a meeting of various organisations, including those associated with Non-Political JAC, convened by MLC ‘Chaitanya’ Raju on Friday at Integral Institute of Advanced Management, the date was decided. Three venues are being considered. They are: the Old Jail Road area, Maddilapalem Junction and near Kalimata temple at Ramakrishna Beach.
Several constituents of the non-political JAC, its general secretary Vishnu Kumar Raju and coordinator PLK Murthy, Government Whip Dronamraju Srinivasa Rao, MLA Ch. Venkatramaiah, Sunkari Ravindra of Alwardas institutions and Pydah Krishna Prasad of Pydah institutions were among those present.
Minister for Infrastructure and Investment Ganta Srinivasa Rao, who announced the details, said the meeting was planned to give a forceful voice to the Samaikyandhra movement being spontaneously carried out. Mr. Raju said various committees formed for organising the meeting would meet regularly at IIAM.
Stating that all the parties were responsible for the present crisis and there was no point in blaming one another, the Minister said it was important that the voice of Samaikyandhra reached Delhi where the decision to carve out Telangana was announced ‘as simply as cutting a cake’. Visakhapatnam being the next important city after Hyderabad should rise to the occasion and host such a historic meeting.
He said even at small places like Kadiri and Proddatur thousands were gathering in support of Samaiyandhra. It was also important to express solidarity in view of the hurdles being created for the NGOs meeting at Hyderabad, he said.
All the education institutions, students, parents, youth and employees would be made part of the meeting. The meeting intends to mobilise lakhs of people for the first such meeting in the region.
Mr. Srinivasa Rao took exception to the statement of Union Minister V. Kishore Chandra Deo that the Chief Minister should have resigned and the State should be divided into three.
He said there were no differences among ministers in resigning their posts but factors like the government collapsing making the process of bifurcation easy weighed upon them.
Stressing that people’s interest was more important than that of the party, he said legal options for stalling the bifurcation were also being explored.
Samaikya Andhra Pradesh Rastra Samiti president K. Adibabu said September 17 would also mark the completion of 50 days of the agitation for Samaikyandhra. The success of the ‘garjana’ would also bring pressure on the Centre to go for a rethink on its decision to bifurcate the state.
Meanwhile, Telugu Desam activists and leaders organised a relay hunger strike at the Gandhi statue at Asilametta on Friday. The TDP leaders also took out a rally on the newly constructed flyover at Asilametta as part of the Samaikhyandhra agitation.
MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu, Telugu Yuvata leader Lodagala Krishna, Telugu Mahila leader Anita Sakuru, party leaders Sanapala Panduranga Rao and B.V. Satya Rao were among those who participated.