State suppressing agitation for Special Category Status: PCC

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president N Raghuveera Reddy and several other leaders were arrested for staging protest on the National Highway here on Friday. 

The leaders were shifted to police station and were later released. On the occasion, they raised slogans against the State and Central governments.  The PCC chief criticised the State government for suppressing the agitations for Special Category Status (SCS).

Raghuveera Reddy said that the Congress party would not stop the agitation for protecting interests of the state and added the leaders and workers of Congress were ready to go to jail.

He wondered as to how the police were arresting them when they were fighting for SCS which, the government, too, was demanding.  He said the Congress party would stage protests at Parliament from March 5 to March 9 and all parties and people's organisations should join hands with them for the implementation of promises made in the AP Reorganisation Act.

He asked Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to cancel the Assembly sessions for participating in the agitation in New Delhi. The PCC chief termed their protest as final battle in the agitation for getting justice. 

AP Mahila Congress president Sunkara Padmashree, party official spokesperson Kolanukonda Sivaji, senior leaders Meesala Rajeshwara Rao, V Gurunadham and city Congress president Akula Srinivasa Kumar were present.