Will burn draft T Bill to lodge protest: APNGOs

• Defeating the Bill in Assembly should be the priority of all legislators

• All-party meets in Seemandhra districts tomorrow

Hyderabad: In a symbolic protest, the APNGOs Association leaders will light up ‘Bhogi fire’ and burn the copies of the AP Reorganisation Bill at Ongole on Monday.

Association president P Ashok Babu said that burning copies of the Bill would not amount to violation of the Constitution.

As citizens of the country, people had every right to protest and the gesture was intended to send a strong message to the Centre on the bifurcation issue, he added.

“The APNGOs will be organising all-party meets in district headquarters of all the Seemandhra districts on January 14. We will make the legislators pledge their support to the integrationists to fight tooth and nail against the Bill democratically in the Assembly,” he informed.

He reiterated the words of the Endowments Minister C Ramachandraiah who said that the Bill was nothing but a ‘death knell’ for the people of the Seemandhra region. Therefore defeating this Bill in the Assembly should be the priority of all the legislators, he said.

During the Samaikyandhra meeting to be held in Ongole on Monday, the copies of the Bill would be burnt by the participants, he added.

Ashok Babu condemned the statements of Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy. He felt that this was unbecoming of a senior leader like him.