YSRC president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy announced on Friday that he will undertake an indefinite fast from Saturday in support of his demand that the Central government revoke its decision to bifurcate the state.
YSRC president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy announced on Friday that he will undertake an indefinite fast from Saturday in support of his demand that the Central government revoke its decision to bifurcate the state. Speaking to reporters at his residence on Friday, Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy said that a delegation of senior party leaders will meet the President of India and others to get their support for his fight against the “gross injustice”. He requested all political leaders cutting across party lines to join the fight against the UPA’s “arbitrary decision” to set aside all established norms of a mandatory Assembly resolution. He said the YSRC delegation will meet the floor leaders of all political parties and urge them to fight against injustice being done to Andhra Pradesh state. Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy said it is essential to bring in a constitutional amendment to make the consent of the Assembly a must before bifurcation of the state. He alleged that the Centre has sidelined good democratic practices and has gone ahead with its agenda of dividing the state for the sake of a few votes and seats and has taken the people for granted. He said the Centre has intentionally ignored taking the Assembly’s consent before dividing the state. He questioned how a group of ministers (GoM) can provide solutions to contentious issues like water-sharing, new capital, revenue sharing and the like in six weeks. This was sheer arrogance of the ruling party whose message was “we do what we want to do come what may”. Mr Reddy pointed out that water-sharing has always been a contentious issue in the country. No tribunal in the country has solved any dispute, which is why Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are fighting for Cauvery water. If another state comes in between, where will Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar get water from, he asked. He also questioned how a capital city like Hyderabad can be built in 10 years when it took 60 years to develop the present state capital.
