Jagan meets Jaya, MK; seeks support

Chennai, December 4, 2013:  In his continuous
pursuit to keep the State united and muster support for his cause of bringing
together the democratic forces to thwart the Centre from misusing article 3, YS
Jagan Mohan Reddy has met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and DMK
leader M Karunandi here on Wednesday.

“I have met both leaders and explained to them in
detail the need to amend article 3. They listened to me for over 45 minutes
each and felt that it is an important issue to be addressed,” YS Jagan Mohan
Reddy told media after the meeting.

During our interaction, I have told the two leaders
that they should not see this as an issue of Andhra Pradesh alone but to
rethink and voice their opinion and protect democracy. If leaders are quiet
now, Andhra Pradesh will set a precedent and any party in power at the Centre
with 272 MPs at their disposal can split any state according to its whims and
fancies without taking the assembly into consideration.

“Since I have been going round the country and
meeting national and regional party leaders and mobilizing their support to
oppose article 3 which is being misused by the Centre, the Congress has brought
in Rayal Telangana issue by adding two more districts from Rayalseema so that
it can get a simple majority in the assembly. Congress has no clarity on what
it is doing and wants to divide the state for the sake of votes and seats.

He dared the Centre to hold 2014 elections before
taking any decision on the division. I stand for a united cause and let people
give their mandate which will serve as a referendum. The State cannot be
divided for the sake of political gains, the assembly and people’s sentiments
should be taken into consideration, he said.

 The division of the State is not healthy as
there are contentious issues like the state capital and sharing of river
waters.

 When asked if he had discussed about any political
alignments, Jagan said, “I am here for a far bigger cause. I am meeting
everyone Left, BJP, NDA constituents to bring a consensus on the issue.”

“My Party has just three MPs in the Parliament. I
am trying to consolidate people who stand for democratic principles and raise
their voice when it is most needed. I need every voice that supports democracy
to come forward,” he said.

When reminded that Prime Minster has said the
Government is committed for Telangana, Jagan said, it is for the Parliament to
decide. My exercise is to tell people how the article 3 is being misused and
ask them to vociferously oppose the move.

The YSRCP President has earlier met, leaders of
BJP, CPI, CPI(M), JD(U), BJD, Shiv Sena and others to mobilize opinion against
the misuse of article 3 and the way in which Andhra Pradesh is being split
without an assembly resolution.