The anti-Telangana protests in the Seemandhra (Rayalseema and coastal Andhra) regions of Andhra Pradesh showed no signs of a letup for the second day today. The public anger against the Congress party’s decision to bifurcate the state continued to find its vent in wild protests and incidents of violence.
Even as the two regions boiled over, a group of ministers from Seemandhra announced their decision to resign from their positions. Clearly feeling the heat from their respective constituencies, they announced that all the people’s representatives of the Congress will follow suit. They are expected to meet again in the evening in Hyderabad before handing over their resignations to the chief minister.
In an unusual protest in the heart of Hyderabad, employees of the state secretariat hailing from the Seemandhra regions struck work. They staged a rally demanding that Hyderabad be made the permanent joint capital for both the states.
Adding yet another twist to the bifurcation tangle, Congress party’s MP from Rajahmundry Undavalli Arun Kumar floated the proposal to make Hyderabad the second capital of the country.
Meanwhile, the situation remained grim amid angry protests. Statues continued to be the target in violent protests in Ananthapur, Kurnool, Nellore and Chittoor districts. Indira Gandhi statues were set on fire in Kadapa and Eluru town. Protesters also desecrated the statues of Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi in Nellore and Visakhapatnam.
Ananthapur district remained a concern for the authorities as marauding protesters kept them on their toes. Police resorted to lathicharge to disperse unruly mobs following a rally staged from the Saptagiri Centre till the Clock Tower. Several protesters were injured causing tension in the area for sometime.
District superintendent of police Shyam Sunder personally had to supervise the preventive measures there. An MIM rally also added to the police worries in the meantime. The participants of the rally reiterated their president Asaduddin Owaisi’s commitment to a unified state and demanded the Congress to retract from its decision.
Hundreds of women also joined the protesters elsewhere in the district. Meanwhile, the campus of the Sri Krishnadevaraya University remained volatile for the second day today. Intensifying their stir, students hanged the effigies of Sonia Gandhi at the gates of the university to protest against the bifurcation decision.
Vehicular traffic came to a standstill for a stretch of 10 kilometres following a road blockade enforced by the students. The agitators used huge stones to block the road besides making bonfires.
In Kurnool district, protesters attacked the house of minister Erasu Pratapa Reddy’s house. They smashed the window panes demanding his immediate resignation. Students, employees, teachers and people from other walks of life kept up the pressure through rallies and dharnas. They demanded a special package for Rayalaseema region.
Unruly scenes were also witnessed outside the residences of several Union and state ministers, MPs and MLAs across the two regions.
A bandh was observed in Eluru and other parts of West Godavari district. Educational institutions and commercial establishments joined the call voluntarily. In a shocking move, a group of teachers attacked the Congress party office in the town. They burned the effigies of Sonia Gandhi and Union minister Kavuri Sambasiva Rao, who hails from the town.
The premises of a prominent educational institution came under attack from protesters in Guntur town. The institution’s decision to go ahead with regular classes defying the bandh call angered the protesters to no end.
