The APNGOs Joint Action Committee president P. Ashok Babu challenged AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi to tear the Telangana bifurcation note, the way he called the Cabinet Ordinance on convicted MPs ‘nonsense’ and wanted it torn symbolically at a meet the press, recently.
He was addressing a massive rally of farmers, ‘Rythu Maha Garjana’, here on Wednesday. He went on to call the Congress vice-president ‘Yuvaraj’ and said that dynastic rule was pulling down politics to its lowest ebb. Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, he said that the seven crore people of Andhra were betrayed by the party. “We voted Congress back to power as they promised a second SRC for the State and went back on its word,” he said.
Force to reckon with
Terming the APNGOs a potent force, he said, “Yes we command the politics.” Combining all the JACs in the 13 districts and the sympathisers that we have in six other districts in the Telangana region we are over 10 lakh strong contingent and we are a force to reckon. “On many occasions MLAs and MPs had won the elections due to our postal ballot, and they should not forget that,” he pointed out.
Lashing out at KCR, Mr. Ashok Babu urged the TRS chief to rule the State for the next five years and take up development work wherever he intends to do, but forget breaking up the State.
Tongue-in-cheek, the APNGO leader said, “The MPs and Ministers should learn a lesson or two from the Telangana MPs on unity. It appears that the MPs from Telangana were elected by the people, while the MPs from Seemandhra were nominated by people at Delhi. That is why Telangana MPs listen to the electorate, while the Seemandhra MPs dance to the tune of Delhi.”
Cultural groups
Mr. Ashok Babu also pointed out that the cultural groups were playing a major role in the Telangana agitation, and urged local artistes and folk artists to join the ongoing stir. That is why we have asked Ghazal Srinivas to support our movement.” And the singer did make an impact, as the impetus to the meeting with the two songs that he sang showed.
Objects to police curbs
Mr. Ashok Babu took strong exception to the police orders in Hyderabad asking him to remain in his house and not stir out on October 2 to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi.
Garlanding the statue of Mahatma Gandhi opposite Vijayawada Municipal Corporation administrative building on Wednesday, Mr. Ashok Babu said that he had to cancel his programme to garland the statue of Father of the Nation and come to Vijayawada to garland Gandhiji’s statue.
He asked the students to continue agitating and take a leading role in the Samaikyandhra agitation so that Union Government does not divide the state. He said that all the political leaders across the parties failed the people and proved that they were more worried about their posts than the future of the people. He sat along with them near the Gandhi statue, where Student JAC leader Devineni Avinash was sitting on a dharna.
The Municipal Corporation JAC leaders along with APNGOs took out a rally from Control Room to the Gandhi Statue.
The APNGOs will announce the future course of action on October 5 or 6 after their proposed 48-hour picketing of MPs and Ministers’ houses. Gandhian way of agitation was bringing dividends to the movement and the NGOs had the support of people, hence it was certain to achieve the desired results, Mr. Ashok Babu said.
