Andhra Pradesh: YSR Congress to exit Lok Sabha today; JSP is poised to hit road

VIJAYAWADA: YSR Congress (YSRC) MPs - YV Subba Reddy, YS Avinash Reddy, Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy, P Mithun Reddy and V Varaprasad Rao - will tender their resignations to their posts on Friday, the last day of the ongoing Budget session of Parliament. Immediately after submitting their resignations, they will go on an indefinite hunger strike at AP Bhavan in Delhi, for which they have obtained permission.

Disclosing this to mediapersons in Delhi on Thursday evening, YSRC MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy said that the movement for Special Category Status (SCS) will gain momentum with their resignations and indefinite fast.  

“From the beginning, our leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy has been saying that there is no substitute to the Special Category Status (SCS). However, it was Chandrababu Naidu, who took a U-turn on SCS and agreed for Special Package and when it failed to materialise, he took another U-turn, this time pressing for SCS,” he said.

Recalling Chandrababu Naidu’s statement in 2003 that TDP would never align with BJP and going back on it at the time of 2014 elections when his party partnered with the saffron party, Rajamohan Reddy said Chandrababu Naidu’s only goal is to be in power but not to address the problems faced by the people of the State.

“There has been no change in the stance of YSRC and its chief Jaganmohan Reddy on Special Category Status. We will not compromise on the issue and with our resignations, we will make the entire nation take note of it and support Andhra Pradesh’s genuine demand,” YV Subba Reddy said.He said BJP and TDP are equally responsible for the injustice done to the State and they have to pay the price for it soon.  MP YV Avinash Reddy and P Mithun Reddy said it is not late for TDP MPs to resign. “When all the 25 MPs from the State resign en masse, it will send a strong message,” he said

Earlier in the day, YSRC MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and requested her to allow notices of no-confidence motion. She told them that unless the House is in order, she cannot allow the notices on the no-confidence motion.Meanwhile,  Jana Sena, CPI and CPM have decided to take out a one-hour padayatra from 10 a.m to 11 a.m on Friday across the State to protest against the ‘betrayal’ of the Central government. The promised Special Category Status was not accorded and provisions of AP Reorganisation Act were not implemented, which is nothing but betraying the people of the State, leaders of the three parties said.

In Vijayawada, Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan, CPI State secretary K Ramakrishna, CPM State secretary P Madhu and others will take out a rally on National Highway 16 from Benz Circle to Ramavarappadu.
Stating that the people would be subjected to some inconvenience on Friday during their protest march on highways, JSP leaders appealed to the people of the State to cooperate with them in the larger interests of the State. During and after the protest march, leaders of the three parties would address people through the media.  In other parts of the State, where there are no highways, the people were asked to take out a protest march to the important junctions in their respective regions to register their protest

Similar protest marches will be taken up by Telangana cadre of Jana Sena across Telangana, demanding implementation of the promises made during the bifurcation of the State.It will be taken up simultaneously along with the one in Andhra Pradesh.