YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy will begin an indefinite fast from Saturday, protesting the
Centre's decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh to carve out a separate Telangana state.
Addressing a press conference in Hyderabad, Jagan said that he would sit on the indefinite hunger strike at his party office in Hyderabad.
"Is it justifiable to divide the state without an Assembly resolution? What kind of democracy are we living in where people intentionally choose to ignore the Assembly?" Jagan asked, adding that all the states that were divided earlier were supported by Assembly resolutions.
He added, "The decision was taken only for the sake of votes and seats."
Jagan said that the division should be stopped, and that all leaders should "join hands to save the state". He appealed to TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu to support the Samaikyandhra protest. He also said that he would welcome all leaders to be a part of the protest "by holding their own party flags".
The YSRCP chief also announced that his party's delegation would leave for Delhi to meet the leaders of different political parties, to get their support against the state's bifurcation.
"The division of the state will create several crises, especially in river water sharing. Despite the Tribunals, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have been fighting with one other every year for their share of water," he said. He added that a similar situation would arrive, as the Seemandhra region would be deprived of water.
He said that students and job seekers too would face a similar fate after the state's division.
"How can a group of Ministers address all these issues in 6 months?" he asked.
"It is improper for the Centre to ask people to leave a city which they built over 6 decades, in 10 years," he added. (INN)