Jagan evicted from hunger strike venue, taken to hospital

There was no resistance from YSR Congress chief's supporters at the time of the police action.

On an indefinite hunger strike here protesting bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress Party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy was tonight evicted by police from the venue of his agitation and taken to a hospital as doctors voiced concern over his deteriorating health.

"We lifted him (from his residence Lotus Pond in posh Jubillee Hills in the city where Jagan was on fast) and are taking him to Nizam Institute for Medical Sciences (NIMS) Hospital on doctors' advice," said DCP (west zone) V Satyanarayana.

A team of policemen swooped on Jagan's house at around 2300 hours and bodily lifted him before putting him into an ambulance and taking him straight to the hospital.

There was no resistance from Jagan's supporters at the time of the police action.

YSRCP senior leader Konatala Ramakrishna said "we wanted Jagan to call off his fast and again the lead the party".

Doctors, who examined Jagan earlier today, advised him to call off the hunger strike as his sugar level was falling, Ramakrishna told reporters here.

Jagan launched his indefinite fast on October 5 to press for a unified Andhra Pradesh.

He had undertaken a hunger strike when he was in a jail here last month on the Telangana issue.

Konatala said Jagan has appealed to all parties to join hands in keeping the state united as the division is aimed at short-term political gains being "engineered by Congress and Sonia Gandhi to make Rahul Gandhi the prime minister".

Meanwhile, YSRCP likened the Group of Ministers (GoM), constituted by Centre to go into issues concerning division of Andhra Pradesh, to Simon Commission under British rule, and demanded Centre forthwith terminate further process for bifurcation of the southern state.

"We demand that state government convene a special session of the assembly to pass a resolution to keep the state united," Ramakrishna said.