Jagan to go on a hunger strike over Andhra bifurcation

Cabinet on Thursday decided to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh to form Telangana

YSR Congress Party president, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, has decided to go on an indefinite hunger strike from Saturday in front of his party headquarters in Hyderabad in protest against the Union Cabinet's decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.  

 

Soon after the Cabinet's decision on Thursday, Jagan, as the YSRCP leader is popularly known, had given a call for a 72-hour shutdown in Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, combinedly called as Seemandhra.

 

Addressing a press conference at his residence here on Friday, Jagan asked whether "it is justifiable to split the state without an Assembly resolution to this effect?"

 

He said that no other state in the country had been formed without a resolution adopted by the Legislative Assembly concerned. "So, why they (Congress) are dividing AP without such a resolution?", he questioned.

 

Meanwhile, Congress party ministers, MLAs, MLCs and some of the MPs, all hailing from Seemandhra, have assembled at the residence of chief minister, N Kiran Kumar Reddy, to chalk out their future course of action. Earlier, the chief minister had openly opposed the decision of the Congress Working Committee to divide the state.

 

On the other hand, there has been a total shutdown in the Seemandhra region in response to a call given by various united Andhra outfits including the AP Non-gazetted Officers Association.

 

Tension prevailed in Vizianagaram when large number of agitators tried to barge towards the residence of the Pradesh Congress Committee chief Botcha  Satyanarayana. Police had to lob teargas shells to disburse the angry mob.