Two of the five Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders sitting here on fast-unto-death in favour of unified Andhra Pradesh were shifted to the Government General Hospital in a pre-dawn swoop by the police on Wednesday.
Nuzvid MLA Ch. Ramakotaiah and the city former Mayor P. Anuradha were shifted to the hospital on the advice of the doctors, but they asserted they would continue their fast and resist any attempts to administer any fluids to them.
The other TDP leaders, including Mylavaram MLA Devineni Umamaheswa Rao and Bonda Umamaheswara Rao, continued their fast that entered the fourth day on Wednesday.
Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal, who kicked off his indefinite fast on Tuesday, vowed to continue his agitation until the Centre relented and gave a categorical statement about keeping Andhra Pradesh unified.
The Joint Action Committee of Congress, Telugu Desam, Praja Rajyam, Lok Satta and a few other parties too continued its stir, resorting to 'rail roko' at several places in Krishna district. Coromandel Express was stopped for about 30 minutes in Vijayawada railway station. They raised slogans denouncing TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram.
Our Special Correspondent reports from Visakapatnam
Five students of Andhra University Joint Action Committee who commenced an indefinite fast since Monday night near the Gandhiji statue in the campus have been shifted by the police to the King George Hospital on Wednesday morning.
This was done in accordance with the State Human Rights Commission’s order not to allow indefinite fasts in the campus. The five students occupied the place of six others who were shifted to the KGH by the police on Monday night. Though their fast started as a relay hunger strike, the students continued the fast in spite of the police on Tuesday night asking them to call it off. There were only a handful of students with the fasting students when a large posse of policemen removed the five students around 8.20 a.m. Mobile phones of the fasting students were taken away before they were shifted to the KGH.
After removing the students, woman police constables along with a Sub-Inspector were made to sit on the chairs of the fasting students to prevent other students to take their place but about dozen students sat in front of them and commenced their fast. Soon a large number of students gathered near the spot and raised slogans, which also included “students-women police unity Zindabad”.
After some time the students demanded the woman police constables to vacate the chairs which led to some tension. Later the woman police vacated the chairs and the fasting students occupied the chairs.
Praja Rajyam MLA of Gajuwaka Ch. Venkataramaiah along with his party workers blocked the main gate of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant for about one-and-a-half hours in the morning. Later the protestors dispersed on their own.
Fresh batches of Corporators and leaders commenced relay hunger strike at the camps of the Congress and the Telugu Desam in front of the GVMC main building.
