The agitation by the employees of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema demanding the Congress Working Committee to roll back its decision to bifurcate the State is set to intensify further with the teachers in Seemandhra going on indefinite strike from midnight of Wednesday.
The Samaikhyandhra Teachers Struggle Committee, comprising 16 teacher unions in the 13 districts of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, served the strike notice to the Chief Secretary here on Tuesday.
Struggle Committee convener M. Kamalakara Rao and MLCs Gade Srinivasulu Naidu and B. Pullaiah said 2.5 lakh teachers would strike work in support of people from all walks of life, employees agitating against the unilateral decision of the CWC to divide the State.
The Secretariat Seemandhra Employees Forum also resolved to go on indefinite strike from September 2 and they would serve the strike notice to the Chief Secretary on Wednesday, said Forum president U. Muralikrishna.
As part of their lunch hour protests, the Secretariat Seemandhra Employees, including women, staged a sit-in sporting black T-shirts and later took out a rally. Reiterating that Hyderabad belonged to all Telugus, some employees poured out their anguish over being asked to leave Hyderabad once the State was divided.
Emotional attachment
Expressing their emotional attachment with the State Capital, many men and women said they lost their peace and were unable to sleep after the Congress announced its unilateral decision on July 30 to divide the State.
Sharing her angst, a Tamilian employee made an open appeal to Union Finance Minister Chidambaram in her native tongue that all the three regions of Andhra Pradesh should be kept united taking note of common people’s emotions and sentiments.
Mr. Muralikrishna said it was wrong to term Telugus from Seemandhra who came to Hyderabad as migrants and outsiders. They came to Hyderabad as it was their State Capital. The Seemandhra employees would agitate peacefully for their rights and would not respond to provocations from some Telangana leaders, he said.
Mr. Mandali Budda Prasad, Official Language Chairman, expressed his solidarity to the Seemandhra employees and said the movement for united State should continue only with people’s partnership.
The movement for united Andhra Pradesh came voluntarily from people’s hearts and thus CWC which had changed several of its decisions, should also roll back its decision to divide the State, he said.