Last chance to redeem themselves, says Ashok Babu

P. Ashok Babu

The Union Ministers and MPs from Seemandhra have the last chance of redeeming themselves by doing what is necessary to stall both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to ensure that the Telangana Bill is not introduced in them in the coming week, said APNGOs Association president P.Ashok Babu who has been spearheading the Samaikyandhra movement.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday Mr Ashok Babu said the Central Government was tabling the Telangana Bill in Parliament in the most “stubborn and undemocratic way.”

The Union Minister and MPs when asked to resign immediately after the CWC announcement said that they would be able to stall the process from the “inside”. Now it had come to a stage where they had to really show that they could stall the process to form Telangana. If the Ministers and MPs kept quiet now the NGOs along with the “Telugu people who have been betrayed will not spare them,” he said.

He said the APNGOs and Samaikyandhra activists would give the Ministers and MPs all the support they needed to stall the proceedings in both Houses. He said that he was going to New Delhi on Monday and would be there till February 15 and would participate in the Chalo Delhi programme.

He asked how the national parties could take a lead without the Ministers and MPs of the State taking an active part.

Asked if there was any change in the stand of the BJP Mr Ashok Babu said that the national parties were bound to change their stand after actually seeing the Bill.

Mr Ashok Babu confidently said that the State would not be bifurcated and that the battle for a united state would continue until those opposing it or supporting were wiped out. “A war only ends when one of the warring parties was eliminated,” he said.

Asked why all NGOs had not joined the strike Mr Ashok Babu said the NGOs went on strike because they wanted the state to remain united though it was not actually their responsibility. He said 99 per cent of the government employees would join the strike on Monday. Electricity and RTC employees were meeting on February 12 and they would also join the strike depending on the conditions.