Naidu Kickstarts Atma Gaurava Yatra

In a bold political move, Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu launched the "Telugu Jaati Atma Gaurava (self-respect)" bus yatra, on Sunday, in the Seemandhra region, while maintaining his stand on Telangana issue.

Before proceeding to Pondugula of Dachepally mandal, Gurujala constituency in Guntur district, the TDP chief paid his tributes to TDP founder late N T Rama Rao, at the NTR Ghat. Speaking on the occasion, Naidu said, "It is true that the TDP has given the Centre a letter supporting the bifurcation of the state. However, the Centre needs to give clear solutions for all the problems that would arise after the separation," he added.

Naidu said, "Instead of solving the Telangana issue, the Congress-led UPA government has created a rift among Telugus in the state."

He blamed Congress president Sonia Gandhi for the chaos that has seen a rise in the Seemandhra region, and also for turning a deaf ear to theongoing agitation in the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.

The TDP chief suggested that people from Telangana and Seemandhra be seated together for discussions that could bring out some amicable solution to the existing problems.

He said that instead of suppressing the instability, the Congress has ignited a fire of hatred and made Telugus fight among themselves. "People were otherwise living as Ram Lakshman, without any regional affiliations", he added.

He asked Telugu people to display their strength, and said that the Congress should be punished for dividing the people on regional grounds. He added that it was the TDP that had brought a feeling of Telugu pride among the people, and also brought international recognition for Hyderabad. He accused the Congress party of instilling a sense of fear among the people that made them feel unsafe in other regions of Andhra Pradesh.

In his "Telugu Jaati Atma Gaurava Yatra", Naidu plans to cover all 13 districts of the Seemandhra region in the next 35 days. (INN)