Cong Poru Bata for special status

Tirupati: “Special status is our right and we are not at the mercy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” thundered state Congress president N Raghuveera Reddy while addressing party’s `Poru Sabha’ here on Saturday. Hitting hard at the Centre and the state, he accused Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu of genuflecting before Modi for special status instead of demanding him for the same.

Declaring that the Congress would go all out to get the right of the people of Andhra Pradesh (special category status), Raghuveera Reddy extended his party support to the state bandh called by the CPI on August 11 to exert pressure on the Centre to accord special status to the state.

“If the Centre failed to concede the demand even after the bandh, we will call to the leaders of BJP and TDP to quit, the Congress leader said, while calling his cadres to build a movement in support of special status for the state. He said that it was here (Tirupati) at the lotus feet of Lord Venkateshwara, Narendra Modi, while addressing an election meeting promised the people of Andhra Pradesh to accord special status to the state if his combine was voted to power in the presence of Chandrasbabu Naidu and Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu.

“But betrayed the state after coming to power,” he said. The Congress chose to launch the campaign from the pilgrim town of Tirupati, the place where he (PM) betrayed the people of the state, for achieving special status, he said. He said as part of building up the movement, the party activists would start filing complaints in all the 1248 police stations across the state against Modi, Venkaiah Naidu and the CM for betraying the people.

A host of Congress leaders, including MP K Chiranjeevi, Chintha Mohan, Killi Krupa Rani and C Ramachandraiah, made a blistering attack on the Centre for dillydallying on the special status issue and were not spared the TDP and its supremo N Chandrababu Naidu from their scathing attack.

The leaders later left to the SVRR hospital, where a Congress activist Muni Koti was undergoing treatment after he attempted to immolate himself at the meeting. Speaking at the hospital, Raghuveera Reddy termed the incident most unfortunate and said that his party would do best for providing best treatment to save the life of Muni Koti.

SVRR hospital sources said that Muni Koti was shifted to Vellore along with medical officers for better treatment. Another person Seshadri, friend of Koti who also sustained about 40 percent burns while trying to save Koti, was also shifted to Vellore.