Rallies, protests, holding up of traffic and boycotting of duties marked the Samaikhyandhra agitation in the city on Saturday.
The >‘inflammatory’ remarks of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhara Rao asking government employees, hailing from Seemandhra region, working in Telangana region to go back to their native places drew widespread protests.
Leaders of various JACs wondered whether KCR had become the Chief Minister of Telanagana even before the formation of that state.
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Rajya Sabha Member T. Subbarami Reddy, Anakapalle MP Sabbam Hari and Araku MLA Siveri Soma announced their resignation.
The condition of leaders, who are on a fast for the past four days, deteriorated on Saturday. Samaikhyandhra Student JAC state president Lagudu Govinda Rao, Youth JAC leader Areti Mahesh, JAC Andhra University leader Kanta Rao and Girijan JAC leader T. Suresh Kumar are on indefinite fast to protest bifurcation of the State. Doctors, who examined them on Saturday, were said to have stated that there could be health problems, if they continued their fast for long.
Mr. Govinda Rao took exception to KCR’s remarks and the silence of the Central government. Leaders of various organisations, spearheading the cause of remaining united, called on the fasting leaders and expressed solidarity.
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Students of the Government Polytechnic squatted on the highway and stopped the traffic. Government doctors, nurses and staff took out a rally from the KGH to Jagadamba Junction, where a human chain was formed.
A sand sculpture of Andhra Pradesh map with the statue of Telugu Talli was created at the Ramakrishna Beach.
Sonia Gandhi was depicted as piercing the heart of Telugu Talli with a spear. Telugu Desam activists and youth held a protest with candles and torches near the sculpture and raised ‘Jai Samaikhyandhra’ slogans. Visakhapatnam Urban District TDP president Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar alleged that the ‘power hungry’ Congress had divided the State with an eye on the votes and seats in the next elections.
Boycott
GVMC employees boycotted their duties and took out a rally to the Gandhi statue at Asilametta and paid tributes to the Father of the Nation.
Later, some of them went to Andhra University and expressed solidarity with the fasting students.
A rally was organised by the YSR Congress from Visakha Women’s College to the Gandhi statue at Asilametta in which a large number of college students participated.
The Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) has called upon the people to fight against the ‘pernicious move’ to bifurcate the state. SUCI district in charge S. Govinda Rajulu said that the bifurcation would only benefit power-hungry politicians, high-handed bureaucracy, police and administrative bigwigs, who would rule the new states. On behalf of the Central Committee of SUCI (Communist), he appealed to the people of Telangana region not to fall into to the vicious trap of the ruling capitalist class but think with a cool head.
Procession
Doctors, nurses and employees of King George Hospital staged a dharna . They went in a procession from KGH to Jagadamba Junction and formed a human chain. IMA leaders L.V. Raghava Rao, senior doctors like S.V. Adinarayana Rao, IMA unit secretary P.V. Ramani, vice-president Vijaya Sekhar, Udaya Kumar and others participated.