Guntur: AICC president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, on her first visit to Seemandhra after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, was pleasantly surprised by the impressive turnout of people who attended her public meeting in Guntur on Friday.
Speaking at the public meeting, Mrs Gandhi tried to explain the reasons behind the AICC’s decision to bifurcate the state by saying that though it had been a very difficult decision for the Congress to take, it was taken as there was no alternative to the long-pending demand.
Sonia Gandhi said the Seemandhra region would emerge as an economic power house region as the people here are experts in all sectors. The party would ensure that Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Guntur, Nellore and Tirupati would be well developed.
She said the people of Seemandhra region would enjoy present reservations in educational institutions for a period of 10 years. She said a Central university, a petroleum university and other educational institutions will be set up in the region.
Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati airports will be developed as international airports.
She called the TD-BJP alliance an unhealthy combination, and said that Telugu Desam chief N. Chandrababu Naidu had failed to react during the Gujarat massacre in 2002 and has now entered into a tie-up with communal forces. She said that the Congress would not compromise on communal issues and it will stick to secularism.
Sonia Gandhi, was pleasantly surprised by the impressive turnout of people who attended her public meeting in Guntur on Friday. Speaking at the public meeting, Mrs Gandhi tried to explain the reasons behind the AICC’s decision to bifurcate the state by saying that though it had been a very difficult decision for the Congress to take, it was taken as there was no alternative to the long-pending demand.
Throughout her speech that lasted for about half-an-hour, the AICC president tried to win the confidence of the people by promising to protect the interests of Seemandhra region. Mrs Gandhi’s statement that the Seemandhra region would emerge as a powerful economic zone and the Congress would protect the interests of the region prompted enthusiastic applause from the gathering. She also promised national project status for the Polavaram project.
Mrs Gandhi concluded her speech by saying “Jai Seemandhra”. She later got down from the dais and went towards the women enclosure to interact with them directly. The women there tried their best to have a closer look at her.
AICC state affairs in-charge Digvijay Singh, Union ministers J.D. Seelam, K. Chiranjeevi, Panabaka Lakshmi, PCC Seemandhra president N. Raghuveera Reddy, former minister Kanna Lakshminarayana and Guntur Parliamentary constituency candidate Abdul Waheed were present.
