Vijayawada: The unity that was absent during bifurcation of the state, is now making its presence felt. The state-wide bandh has been rendered a grand success.
It was previously believed that bandhs and protests in the state lacked the unity and intensity required for them to be success. However, this time around the entire state has raised its voice against the BJP.
Even Telugu Desam, the ruling party, has extended its support to the bandh in keeping with the public mood. The party has been organising protests across the state in spite of having two ministers in the Union government, and this has become a subject of discussion.
The state faced severe criticism during its bifurcation. The intensity and the spirit witnessed in Telangana wasn’t observable in Andhra Pradesh, which made it appear as if the state was not opposed to the split. Despite harbouring anti-bifurcation sentiments, the state failed to effectively raise its voice against the Telangana movement and point out that the bifurcation was unjustified as the residual Andhra Pradesh would not have a revenue-generating capital city like Hyderabad. Meanwhile, the movement gained intensity in Telangana through the creation of awareness among the public.
Four years after the bifurcation, after having experienced the unscientific split, the denial of special category status, the ineffective implementation of special assistance measures, and the ignoring of commitments made to the state, the people of AP have united and volunteered to protest against the Union government and the BJP. The public seems to be more resentful towards the BJP than the Congress.
The state demonstrated its disapproval of the Congress by ensuring that the party was given no scope to participate in the Assembly. It is for the first time in the history of the Congress that the party has no participation in the AP Assembly.
Now, the public is upset with the BJP for not standing by its commitment to provide special category status to the state, a promise that was made by the Prime Minister himself. The TD, having observed the public’s resentment, is also raising its voice against the BJP. TD ministers and MLAs are aligning with public sentiment and protesting against the Union government.
Chalasani Srinivas, the president of the Andhra Pradesh Intellectuals’ Forum, said that the Union government and the BJP’s insults have given birth to a spirit of unity and the intensity to fight to uphold the self-respect and pride of the state.
He said that this spirit of unity will persist, like it has in Tamil Nadu, until justice is done to the state; the public will not spare the BJP for cheating Andhra Pradesh.
