Hyderabad: After the Telangana bandh on Thursday, Seemandhra would witness a bandh on Friday. While YSR Congress gave a bandh call for a day on Friday, the Telugu Desam called for a 48-hour bandh from Friday.
YSRC president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy called for a bandh in Seemandhra on Friday against the Union Cabinet’s decision to bifurcate the state. In a statement on Thursday, Mr Reddy said the Union Cabinet’s decision to divide the state will have a devastating effect on Andhra Pradesh. He said 75 per cent of the state’s people were agitating for a united Andhra Pradesh since four months, but the Centre ignored the sentiments of Seemandhra people and divided the state just for the sake of votes and seats.
Meanwhile, Telugu Desam MP Sujana Chowdary appealed to the Seemandhra people to make the TD-called bandh a success. Condemning the Union Cabinet’s nod for the creation of Telangana state, the APNGOs Association and the Samaikyandhra Rastra Parirakshana Samiti on Thursday called for a one-day bandh in 13 Seemandhra districts on Friday.
Addressing the media here late on Thursday night, APNGOs president P. Ashok Babu said the employees still believe that bifurcation of the state could not be done as the Centre prepared Telangana bill against the Constitution.
“Without amending Article 371D, it is impossible to divide the state and we believe that the President would not approve the Bill that has many Constitutional hurdles,”?he said.
Central force deployed in Rayalaseema
Security was beefed up across the region since Thursday morning following a Cabinet meeting to discuss the process for bifurcation of the state. The police authorities focussed attention on Kadapa district due to speculation about Rayala Telangana state. In anticipation of trouble at Kadapa, Rayalaseema, IG Rajeev Rathan stayed back to lead security arrangements in Kadapa district.
SP G.V.G. Ashok Kumar toured the district and posted additional forces in all sensitive parts. IG Rathan reviewed the situation in the wake of previous incidents in the region when Samaikyandhra activists vandalised statues of national leaders during the agitation against state division decision.
Anantapur range DIG B. Balakrishna lead security measures in the district providing security at the residences of ministers, MLAs and the Congress party office at Anantapur. SP Senthil Kumar reviewed security measures in the district. In Kurnool, DIG B. Murali Krishna lead security forces in Kurnool district. The additional forces of BSF, CRPF and special police teams were posted at sensitive areas.
