Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy today said issues such as water-sharing, power shortage and farmers’ interests have to be immediately addressed in the context of the Congress decision to bifurcate the State.
He said these and several other issues related to the division of the State need to be discussed with the four-member Congress high-powered committee headed by the Union Defence Minister A.K. Antony in the interest of the people of all regions. Stating that he was neither for nor against the formation of a new State, the Chief Minister appealed to employees and politicians from all the regions of the State to desist from agitations and make necessary representations to the high-powered committee.
Addressing the first press conference in nearly ten days, Reddy said that the four-member committee will hear out concerns of various sections of the society, supporters of unified Andhra Pradesh and employees unions who have given strike notice.
Meanwhile, supporters of a unified Andhra Pradesh continued to stage demonstrations across coastal Andhra and Rayalseema regions, as work at the Secretariat in the city was paralysed for the ninth day today on the Telangana statehood issue.
Demonstrations
The non-gazetted officers from the coastal and Rayalseema regions, who had staged demonstrations around the Secretariat building, organised lunch-hour demonstration today. They did not demonstrate during the day as their counterparts from the Telangana region took out the annual Bonalu procession.
The state police administration has warned supporters of Samaiykandhra of strict action if they go ahead with their proposed rail roko agitation in the Seemandhra region.
It has appealed to them to withdraw the rail roko agitation.
AP Ministers from the Telangana region today sought to allay the fears of people from coastal Andhra and Rayalseema over the formation of a separate State. They gave out the message that both the States could co-exist and prosper.