Opposition unites for Special Status fight

Eluru: All opposition party leaders, including the Congress, voiced their displeasure against the BJP government at the Centre and resorted to road blockade on the National Highway at ASRAM hospital on the outskirts of Eluru city on Thursday.

The Left parties CPI, CPM, CPI (ML)-New Democracy, Jana Sena and Congress workers reached ASRAM Hospital Centre on the National Highway around 10 am. The YSRCP leaders and workers also reached the spot and participated in the road blockade. The all-party workers excluding the TDP squatted on the National Highway and raised slogans against the BJP led NDA government. 

Addressing the agitating workers, the leaders said that the BJP at the Centre betrayed the people of Andhra Pradesh and forgot the assurances mentioned in the AP Reorganisation Act.

The Andhra people are demanding Special Category Status which was announced by former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the floor of Parliament in 2014, they added.  Even the TDP government had betrayed the people of the state for over four years, they lamented. 

Following the rasta roko, the traffic on the busy Chennai-Kolkota National Highway came to a halt over a distance of 10 km towards Gundugolanu and Eluru. The workers raised slogans ‘Prathyeka Hoda – Andhrula Hakku’. 

As the agitators continued to block the road for over two hours, the police rushed to the spot and dragged them to one side of the road to clear the traffic around 12 pm. However, as the leaders announced the ending of two-hour agitation, the workers also dispersed.   

CPM leaders like C Babu Rao, P Kishore, B Somaiah and CPI leaders like Prabhakar, N Subba Rao, Congress leaders Rajanala Ramamohan Rao, MLC A Kali Krishna Srinivas, YSRCP leaders like B Srinivas, M Eswari, MRD Balaram and various other leaders took part in the agitation.