YSRCP calls upon people to support Aug 29 bandh

Reiterating its appeal to refrain from committing suicide for Special Status, the YSR Congress has appealed to the people to participate in large numbers to make the August 29 bandh a grand success. It wanted the people at large to tell to the State and the Centre in no uncertain terms what the mood of the people is on the issue, though the TDP is leaving no stone unturned to scuttle the bandh by misusing official machinery.

“People are willing to forego the festivities of Raksha Bandhan for a more noble cause and participate in the bandh after Chandrababu Naidu had made it very clear that he is for a special package and not special status which has irked the multitude of people even as police force is being misused to foil the bandh by preventive arrest and such undemocratic methods as seen in the past,” party spokesperson Vasireddy Padma told reporters on Friday.

“Special status is our right and we need not beg for it as Chandrababu has been cutting a sorry figure and trying to project that the Special Package is a boon. Bihar Chief  Minister Nitish Kumar has ripped open the hidden intricacies of the special package announced by the Centre and proved that it is just a shade more than what is due to the State and insisted that he will settle for nothing short of Special Status. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister should emulate from his Bihar counterpart and force the Centre to yield to the mood of the people,” she said.

Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu when he was in Opposition was very vociferous and asked to increase the term of special status from five to ten years but after coming to power has changed tune while the Chief Minister is nodding his head and is supportive of the turnaround, she said.

YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has visited Nellore to console the family members of Laxmaih who committed suicide disheartened at the news that there would be no special status. “Our Party President has made it clear to the people that suicide is no answer to the problem and they have to fight it out by mounting pressure on State and Central governments and has appealed to make the August 29 bandh a success,” she said.