Hyderabad: Copying AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s initiative of collecting earth (matti) and water (neeru) from 16,000 odd villages and municipal wards in AP for the foundation ceremony of Amaravati, the Opposition Congress, on Saturday, launched a protest on the same lines as a mark of protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi not announcing special category status and special package for AP.
APCC president N. Raghuveera Reddy at a programme in Gandhi Bhavan on Saturday termed their protest as 'matti satyagraham', in which all the Congress workers will collect a fistful of soil and water in pitchers from 16,000 habitations and send them directly to the PM by post.
“When the people of Andhra Pradesh were hoping for a positive statement from Mr Modi on special category status and a special package at the foundation ceremony, the PM gifted a pot full of soil collected from the premises of the Parliament and a pitcher of water, from River Yamuna. We want to carry forward the ‘matti satyagraha’ on the lines of ‘Uppu Satyagraham’ (salt satyagraha) launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1930s, to remind the PM about the promises due for AP,” Mr Raghuveera Reddy said.
He also requested people to participate in the protest, irrespective of party affliations. Non-political, literary and cultural, apart from NGOs, can also take part in the protest and convey their desire to the PM, he said.
