State bandh on Jan 17-18

Hyderabad: The APNGOs and the Samaikhya Rashtra Parirakshana Vedika (SRPV) on Friday called for observing State bandh on January 17 and 18, protesting against the process initiated for state bifurcation.

They also announced a ‘Chalo Assembly’ on January 20. Speaking to media persons, APNGOs president P Ashok Babu said that they would be meeting the MLAs of all political parties in district headquarters and hold district-wise all-party meetings on the issue. As part of protests against the AP Reorganisation Bill, they would be burning the copies of Bill in ‘Bhogi’ fire. The leader hoped that they would fight against the Bill for holding the State together. He demanded assurance from MPs and MLAs that they would join the fight against the Bill.

According to him, the ‘Chalo Assembly’ would be organised with lakhs of people. Ashok Babu condemned the attack on former Minister G Venkata Reddy by a TRS MLA. He recalled that the T legislators had earlier tried to attack Governor E S L Narasimhan in the Assembly. Nannapaneni Rajakumari and Lok Satta National chief Jayaprakash Narayan also had bitter experiences in their hands. He felt that this kind of attack would make people to lose faith in political system.