Wives of Seemandhra mantris join protest

Submit a representation to the Governor against the bifurcation of the State

Hyderabad: While the Seemandhra ministers, MLAs and MLCs held dharna in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the premises of Parliament House on Tuesday, their wives, led by S Moksha Prasanna, wife of Primary Education minister S Sailjanath, met Governor ESL Narasimhan at Raj Bhavan and submitted a representation asking him to impress upon the Central government to keep the State united.

In the early days of the movement, slogan was backwardness of region and exploitation of resources but when data proved that there were more backward regions in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, the agitators shifted their slogan to sentiment, the representation said. It also said that people of Seemandhra region were upset over the decision of the Congress party to bifurcate the State and hence the Governor should convey their feelings and aspirations to the Centre.

Later speaking to the media, Moksha questioned the logic behind taking unilateral decision on bifurcation of the State. She said they had come to Hyderabad about two decades ago with the feeling that Hyderabad belongs to them. She said her children were studying here and were hoping to build a career here. “Hyderabad has become a major hub for education and employment. Under such circumstances, how can we think that Hyderabad does not belong to us anymore,” she questioned.
Samineni Vimala, wife of former MLA Udaya Bhanu, criticised the decision of Congress president Sonia Gandhi to divide the State.

M Rani, wife of former minister M Mareppa, said the decision State’s bifurcation has come as a rude shock and was fraught with serious consequences. Indira Devi, wife of Government whip in Legislative Council Rudraraju Padmaraju, said that they had met the Governor to convey their deep anguish and the aspirations of the over four lakh people of the Seemandhra region. This meeting of the wives of Seemandhra leaders also assumes significance with the fast undertaken by Thota Vani, wife of minister for stamps and registration, opposing bifurcation of the State entered fourth day.

Sucharita Reddy, who belongs to Anam family in Nellore district, and wives of Animal Husbandry minister P Viswaroop, Forest Minister Satrucharla Vijaya Rama Raju, School Education Minister P Satyanarayana, Minister for Investments, Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Minister for Secondary Education, Parthasarathy and others were in the delegation. Incidentally all of them came to Raj Bhavan in the official vehicles of their husbands. This is the first time that the wives of ministers and legislators had met the Governor in a group and extended their support to the agitation taken by their husbands.