Call Off Samaikyandra Agitaion: Raghuveera

Revenue Minister Dr. N Raghuveera Reddy appealed to employees, students and other groups to call off the Samaikyandhra agitation immediately.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress Legislature Party office on Monday, Raghuveer Reddy said, "The ongoing agitation has been creating problems for the common people. The sowing season is on, and the farmers are facing problems with securing fertilizers, seeds, subsidy and other benefits due to the strike."

He added that lakhs of students in the Seemandhra region would lose a "valuable academic year" if the strike isn't called off immediately. "Poor people are unable to access medical services due to the strike by health and transport employees," he added.

Giving an assurance that the Seemandhra leaders would take the responsibility of preventing the division of Andhra Pradesh, he demanded that all activists and organisations end the agitation immediately.

Raghuveera also quashed the demand for the resignation of ministers and legislators from their respective posts, and said, "Resignations will not solve the problem. They would only facilitate the Centre imposing President's Rule in the state." He added that instead of getting into the bad books of the High Command (which could reverse the decision on Telangana formation), it is better for the ministers to continue in their posts and fight for a united state.

He said that representations have already been made to the A K Antony Committee, and that a request has been made to allow free debate in the Legislative Assembly over the Telangana Bill without involving any party whip.

Raghuveera also accused the Telugu Desam Party and the YSR Congress party of trying to prove the Congress and its president Sonia Gandhi guilty of dividing the state. He said that all the parties, except CPI(M) and MIM, had favoured the demand for Telangana and had submitted letters to the Centre.

He added that no one could point fingers at the Congress for making the decision. He asked the TDP and YSRCP to give some clarity on whether they were withdrawing their letters sent to the Centre.

The minister said that TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu had even demanded a Rs. 5 lakh crore package for the new capital of Andhra Pradesh. He accused the TDP chief of taking a a U-turn once the agitation reached its peak.

He also accused the TRS and BJP of not being in support of the formation of Telangana as they would lose their sole agenda in the region.

However, Raghuveera ignored a question about the dharna by Seemandhra legislators in the Assembly premises on Tuesday.

Ministers Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, Vatti Vasanth Kumar and Kondru Murali Mohan, government whip in Council Rudraraju Padmaraju and senior MLA Gade Venkat Reddy were also present. (INN)