Smoke from Vanta Varpu will choke New Delhi: Kodandaram

Warning the state government not to put obstacles during its Vanta Varpu, Telangana Political Joint Action Committee convenor M Kodandaram on Saturday said that the smoke which would arise when food is cooked on the roads as part of the programme will reach the corridors of power in New Delhi.

Talking to media persons at TNGOs Bhavan, Nampally, Prof Kodandaram said that the Vanta Varpu programme would see around two to three lakh employees and their families turning the roads of Hyderabad into a massive kitchen where they would cook and dine.

The TPJAC convenor added that the novel protest would give rise to smoke which would choke New Delhi into submission on the separate Telangana demand. He added that the Vanta Varpu would put on display the power of the Telangana people to the Congress Core Committee, which has failed to arrive at a decision despite meeting on the issue for two consecutive days.

The TPJAC chief further warned the state government not to try and sabotage the agitational programme. The TPJAC convenor said that he suspected the government to try and disrupt the programme, even though it is designed to be conducted peacefully.

“The government will be held responsible if anything untoward takes place if it tries to disrupt our democratic protest,” Prof Kodandaram said.

“The people would not be put to great inconvenience as the agitational programme will be held on a Sunday. Besides, this would be a pleasant time of the year and traditionally, food is cooked in the open in rural areas,” he said.

He said that the TPJAC constituents would gather at the Gun Park and make it a huge kitchen. However, the separate Telangana spearhead also appealed to the protestors to cook on any road of their choice, adding that no specific spot has been earmarked for the agitation. The protest will be held from 9 AM to 2 PM.

He also called on the protestors who would take part in the Vanta Varpu to highlight the sufferings faced by the people of Telangana during the past 50 years under the rule of Seemandhra leaders.

Prof Kodandaram said that so far, he has received tremendous response for the protest during the weeklong publicity drive.

The TPJAC chief also said that new Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Commissioner MT Krishna Babu, who would take charge on Monday, is a hardcore ‘integrationist’, and has been named for the post as part of the recommendations offered by the Justice Srikrishna Committee.

He expressed the apprehension that the GHMC employees from Telangana would face immense hardships under Mr Krishna Babu.

“Naming a hardcore integrationist as the new GHMC chief at a time when the separate statehood agitation is at its peak is a very ill-advised move by Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy,” Prof Kodandaram said.

JAC leaders Devi Varaprasad, Srinivas Goud and Rajeshwar Rao were also present.