Anantapur district continued to boil on the fifth day of bandh with dharnas and protests being held, even as the Samaikyandhra Joint Action Committee (JAC) called for a bandh on Sunday.
Speaking to The Hindu , Samaikyandhra JAC leader Kogatam Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy said they had decided to ensure that they send a strong message to the Central government and built such pressure that the Centre stalls the bifurcation process.
Meanwhile, thousands swarmed roads under various banners demanding united Andhra Pradesh. A large number of women agitators took out a protest rally. Protesters took to sloganeering and demanded Sonia Gandhi to leave the country as she hails from Italy.
The students of Sri Krishnadevaraya University had a showdown with the Anantapur MP Ananta Venkatrami Reddy – who resigned recently in favour of united State – demanding that he ensures that his resignation was accepted before he comes back to address them. However, the MP was allowed to address the gathering after the Samaikyandhra activists were pacified by the other protesting group. Speaking at the venue, he suggested the students to not let the movement go into the hands of politicians as they might undermine the genuine demands and appealed to them to continue to fight for united Andhra Pradesh.
On the other hand, MLC Geyanand had to face a bitter experience when he came to address the protesters. He was asked by the Samaikyandhra agitators to tender his resignation first and then come back and address them.
The district, in general, continued to observe complete bandh with almost all the major roads in the district being blocked by the Samaikyandhra activists. Several major towns including Kadiri, Guntakal, Hindupur Tadipatri and Gooty remained completely shut on Sunday.
