Jaganmohan Reddy launched a vehement attack on Congress today by hinting that Sonia Gandhi‘s personal ambitions to see her son as the Prime Minister of the country has split Andhra Pradesh into to. “Someone wanted the son to become a PM and bifurcated Telangana,” Jagan said, adding, “Just for 16-17 seats, how can they play with the future of lakhs of people in a state.”
Speaking to INN Live, Jaganmohan Reddy who has began an indefinite strike to oppose the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, said that the Congress government has split a state without considering important issues like water supply.
“Where will we get water from. There are so many tribunals, yet every year Karnataka and Tamil Nadu fight over water-sharing from Cauvery. The issue has still not been resolved. Imagine if another state comes up, what will be the specifics of water sharing,” he asked. He also voiced his concerns about the employment prospects of people from the Seemandhra regions.
“We will challenge the Centre’s decision (to divide AP) in the Supreme Court,” he declared.
When questioned if there is an ongoing tussle over cashing in on the vulnerable sentiments of the people in Seemandhra after the split, Jagan pointed out that his party has been on a protest mode against the split for a long time now. “This is not the first time I have gone on a fast to protest the split. I went on a month-long fast in Chanchalguda jail before the split. My mother had gone on a hunger-strike to stop the government from bifurcating Andhra Pradesh. For the past two months, so many protests have been organised here, so many people have gone on fast, shouldn’t Delhi take notice?” he asked.
Pledging support to Chandrababu Naidu if the TDP chief made his protests official, Jagan called all parties to come out in support of an United Andhra. “We have no political mileage to gain out of this. We won by a huge margin in all the state by elections. There was one Lok Sabha bypoll, that too we won with a margin of 3 lakh votes. So we have no political agenda behind this stir. Ask Chandrababu Naidu to write a letter to the PM asking him to not bifurcate Andhra like we did, ask Chandrababu Naidu to write a letter to the government to reconsider his decision, then he can go on a fast.
We will support any party which is against the splitting of the state,” said Reddy. Meanwhile, he reiterated that while he admired Narendra Modi‘s administrative skills, he will also continue leading a secular party. “I said Modi is a good administrator, which he is. But we have always been a secular party and will continue being so. I don’t think that in a country like India you should discriminate against people on the basis of their religion. No community should be made to feel insecure in our country. Then forget fighting in the borders, there will be internal terrorism,” he said, ticking off the BJP and not completely dismissing the Congress at the same time.
He also urged that the BJP should change and urged Modi to change the party’s philosophy. “I want BJP to change. I want Mod to change BJP. I want BJP to become secular,” said Jagan Reddy.
“We don’t want Muzaffarnagar, we want Mohabbatnagar,” he said.
Meanwhile, K Chandrasekhar Rao of the TRS suggested that the anti-Telangana protests were designed by the Seemandhra politicians to gain greater control over Hyderabad as a capital. A Times of India report quotes Rao as telling his followers in a closed door meeting, “We should stay alert and put pressure on the Centre till the Telangana bill is passed in both the houses of Parliament to the satisfaction of the people of the region.”
However, in the tussle between pro-Telangana supporters and anti-Telangana supporters industry and administration has taken a massive hit, especially in the Seemandhra region. With two bandhs — a 72-hour one called by the YSR Congress and a 48-hour-one called by Andhra Pradesh Non-Gazetted Officers (APNGOs) and other united-AP supporters — have made sure that the region lies virtually paralysed. And with Jagan going on an indefinite fast, the situation is likely to worsen.
Normal life in all 13 districts of Seemandhra, as Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra are together known, has come to a halt. Shops, businesses, transport and educational institutions were closed in all towns.
Opposing the state’s division, protestors took to the streets forcing closure of hotels and shops and burning tyres on main roads. They erected road blocks on state and national highways, halting all traffic.
Vehicular traffic from and to the neighbouring states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Odisha came to a halt.
While buses of the state-owned transport corporation are off the roads for nearly two months due to the indefinite strike by employees, private vehicles were also taken off due to the shutdown, causing hardships to commuters.
More than six lakh government employees, teachers and workers are on strike since August 13. Their leader P. Ashok Babu threatened to intensify the strike.
The Telugu film industry too has taken a massive hit with releases of several big ticket releases postponed indefinitely. According to a report on Mint, two films – each worth over Rs 50 crore – have not been able to hit the screens following the stir. Mint reports: “Two big-budget films among them have a common link—tourism minister K. Chiranjeevi. One is Yevadu, a Rs.50-crore production starring Chiranjeevi’s son Ram Charan Teja, and the other is Attarintiki Daaredi—made on a budget of Rs.55 crore—which stars the actor-turned-politician’s brother Pavan Kalyan.”
A report on the Hindu Businessline pegs the daily loss incurred by the Andhra Pradesh government transport system following the outbreak of protests at Rs 10 crores. They have reportedly lost Rs 300 crore as revenue till date. Daily wage labourers and small and medium scale enterprises in the districts falling under Seemandhra too have taken a big hit. BL reports: “Realty, which was recovering, has been hit hard, with hardly any registration of property or sales.
Home loans have dropped by 20 per cent and the daily wage earners and petty traders are bearing the brunt. Small-scale industrial units in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Kakinada, Rajahmundry and other towns have suffered considerable losses, as the transport of material has been affected due to frequent bandhs.”
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