Jagan asks Delhi not to split state

Hyderabad, Oct 26, 2013: In a vitriolic attack on the troika of Sonia Gandhi, N Chandrababu Naidu and Kiran Kumar Reddy, YSR Congress President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the fight for a united state will continue till Delhi stops its divisive tactics and called upon all national parties to join the fight as the same injustice could happen in their respective states.

“We will continue the fight for a united state till the winter session of parliament and take it forward till the next general elections, win 30 seats and dictate terms to Delhi as to who should the next Prime Minister be as this is a fight between the arrogance of Delhi and self-respect of Telugu people,” he said while addressing a mammoth public meeting that has spilled over the LB stadium here on Saturday.

If we are indifferent to the issues going on in the country, when the same issue comes baying for our blood there will be no one when you look back for help, he told the national leaders suggesting that the division for political gains could happen in West Bengal, Tamil Naidu, Karnataka, Orissa or any other state.

Spitting fire at the Delhi’s authoritarian attitude, Jagan said in his 45-minute inspiring speech, that Sonia Gandhi has decided to split the state for political gains and to see her son as Prime Minister at the cost of the future of the sons of the soil.

Going ahead with the plans to divide the state without the assent of concerned state is brazen highhandedness and we will fight this approach tooth and nail, he said amidst the cheering gathering that has came from far and wide braving rains, floods and many more obstacles.

The troika of Sonia, Chandababu Naidu and Kiran Kumar Reddy has been shredding the state for political gains and want to weaken a strong state. Naidu on his part has given nod for bifurcation in the form of a letter while Kiran Kumar Reddy has been dancing to the high command tunes.

All three have an agenda of splitting the state for short term gains but in the larger interest of state, we will fight this gross injustice and take the fight to the opponent’s camp, he said from the venue and dais named after Potti Sriramulu and Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, who were the main pillars of the formation of the State.

Tickling the sensitive nerve, he said, will Sonia Gandhi, who acquired Indian citizenship 30 years back, be prepared to go back to Italy if a Bill passed that all persons who acquired citizenship should return to their native land. The Congress leaders, for sure, would spin on their tails for such utterances.

 If her bond of 30 years with the country is so sound, how Sonia could dare split people of Andhra Pradesh who are living together for over 60 years, he asked and quoted Ravi Narayana Reddy, Madapati Hanumantha Rao and Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy who worked for Vishalandhra or a united Andhra Pradesh.

Sonia Gandhi should hear to the 1972 speech of her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi who said no to division as the 1955 Vishalandhra slogan has been reverberating in her ears. Had Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy resigned immediately after the CWC announcement of bifurcation the state was made, things would not have come to this pass but he has been playing to the tunes of high command.

Our MLAs and MPs had submitted resignations in protest against the CWC decision, my mother and I went on fast, wrote letters to high offices, met Governor twice and left no stone unturned but our pleas remained cry in the wilderness.

We asked for a special session of Assembly to adopt a resolution against the division of the State before the cabinet note and before the draft Bill but Congress is adamant and TDP is fully supporting it. We will continue our fight till Delhi comes down on its knees as students, employees, women, farmers and all sections of people have joined the fight for a united state, he said.

Sonia Gandhi, Kiran Kumar Reddy and Chandrababu Naidu must be aware of the disputes between states in water sharing despite Tribunals, Courts and the occasional intervention of Prime Minister. Andhra Pradesh is getting Krishna waters only after the needs of Maharashtra and Karnartaka are fulfilled. Water flows into our state only after Almatti and Narayanpur dams are full. In such a scenario if another state is created in between how will the water flow into Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar dams, he asked. With the state division talks doing the rounds, Maharashtra and Karnataka have already increased their stakes in Krishna waters and what is in store in future can be gauged by this one step.

There will be skirmishes all along the Krishna ayacut which includes Telangana districts as well. When Hyderabad is taken away, where the youth will look at for jobs, the three leaders should answer. Hyderabad, which was the third city in terms of development when YSR was at the helm, has slipped into 12th place during the past three years while Coimbatore is placed in the 7th spot. Campus recruitments have come down from 57,000 to 25, 000 per annum and declining. A divided state will spell doom for students.

“We are people and not toys. We cannot become pawns in the games of someone sitting in Delhi. We will assert ourselves and fight for our rights. Political institution is decaying and narrow minded decisions are affecting majority of people. We will not tolerate this injustice and will fight it tooth and nail,” he said adding that political decisions should touch the hearts of the people.

Earlier senior leaders, Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy, SPY Reddy, Bhuma Sobha Nagi Reddy, Viswaroop and others said that after the NGOs were coerced to withdraw their strike and MPs and Union Ministers were subdued, there has been a vacuum in the fight for a united state and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is the only person who can fill that void and show to Delhi that majority of the people against the division. “He is the only force who can stop the division. The state cannot be taken for granted. The voice of the majority should be heard.”

The meeting observed one minute silence as a mark of respect to those who died in the recent rains and floods.