Is violence 'Gandhian' in TRS book, asks DS

Pointing out at the efforts of the Congress Legislators from Andhra Pradesh who went to New Delhi to prevail on the Centre to agree for bifurcation of the state, Pradesh Congress Committee president D Srinivas on Saturday said that Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao should follow their lead and desist his men from resorting to physical attacks to achieve Telangana state.

Speaking to media persons at the Gandhi Bhavan, Mr Srinivas strongly condemned the incidents inside and outside the Assembly Hall on Thursday and said that attacking Governor ESL Narasimhan in a bid to disrupt his address to the Joint Sitting was unprecedented and an affront to democracy.

The PCC chief said that the TRS and TDP MLAs had acted against the culture of Telangana and irreparably damaged the image of the region by indulging in such ‘shameful’ acts which had never been witnessed earlier in the state’s history.

Mr Srinivas said that while Congress Legislators were following the Gandhian principles and approaching the Centre to build up the grounds for Telangana creation, KCR, who had vowed to follow the principles of Mahatma Gandhi many times, was not controlling his men when they veered off the path of nonviolence.

He said that it was shameful that MLAs and their drivers were attacking educated and efficient leaders physically.

The PCC chief said that all the MLAs have a duty to uphold the values and sanctity of the Legislature. If they have any complaints, they can register their protest by holding placards and even approaching the Speaker, he added.

Referring to the ongoing noncooperation agitation in the Telangana region, in which the government employees were taking part, Mr Srinivas said that any agitation should not cause loss to the public. The stir by the employees was costing the Exchequer losses in terms of crores of rupees. He said that the employees must give a serious thought to the fact that the government has to pay their salaries and will be unable to do so if revenue generation is hit.

The PCC chief said that the pro-Telangana agitators should go to New Delhi and build pressure on the Centre so that a decision on the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh is expedited.