T Cong Legislators begin hunger fast under pressure

A day after warding off attempts by Pradesh Congress Committee president Botsa Satyanarayana and Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy to withdraw their resignations, several Congress Legislators began their 48-hour long hunger strike at the Indira Park on Wednesday.

The Legislators, including MPs, Ministers, MLAs and MLCs, have launched the hunger strike with the stated purpose of highlighting the separate Telangana statehood demand. However, it is believed that the Legislators, who had submitted their resignations from their elected posts on July 4, had began their hunger stir after being alarmed that the Telugu Desam Party was walking away with the separate Telangana ‘accolades.’

It may be mentioned here that the TDP Legislators had outwitted the Congress Legislators on July 4 by handing over their resignation letters before the ruling party members. To add to the Congress Legislators’ discomfiture, the TDP Legislators had stolen a march ahead, by launching their Bus Yatra across the Telangana districts.

Adding to the Congress Legislator’s discomfiture, they were reported rapped by the party High Command for their resignations.

According to observers, the hunger fast has become necessary to keep the Congress Legislators in the limelight as they were starting to get gradually marginalized by the TDP and the Telangana Political Joint Action Committee.

Talking to media persons at the hunger fast camp, MP from Karimnagar Ponnam Prabhakar said that the 48-hour hunger fast was part of the Congress Legislators’ attempts to keep the intensified agitation for separate statehood sustained. Mr Prabhakar said that, “our ultimate goal is to achieve Telangana statehood by mounting pressure on the High Command.”

Mr Prabhakar further stated that the “agitation for statehood would continue until the Centre makes a concrete announcement on bifurcation of the state.”

MPs Gutta Sukender Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar, G Vivek, Manda Jagannatham, Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, Rajaiah, Rajya Sabha Member K Kesava Rao, Ministers K Jana Reddy, Sabitha Indra Reddy, J Geetha Reddy, Sunitha Lakshma Reddy, D K Aruna, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, P Shankar Rao, D Sridhar Babu, Sudarshan Reddy, Basavaraju Saraiah were seen at the hunger fast camp.