Naidu pedals for special cause

​Amaravati: TDP president and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu intensified the ongoing protest for Special Category Status (SCS) and justice for the state by organising a cycle rally from Venkatapalem to Assembly on Friday, the last working day of the Assembly and also Parliament. Along with him, all the ministers, MLAs and MLCs of TDP participated in the rally.  

Speaking on the occasion, Naidu described the events in Parliament which did not take up no-confidence motion moved by the TDP as an ‘insult’ to the Telugu people. He said this shows the callous attitude of the current government at the Centre towards the demands and needs of the state’s people. 

The Chief Minister began his yatra after garlanding the statue of TDP founder and former chief minister NT Rama Rao at Venkatapalem. At the same time, TDP leaders organised the cycle and bike rallies at their respective district headquarters and Assembly constituencies across the state.

Other political parties too conducted protests in one or other form. The YSRCP MPs sat for indefinite hunger strike in New Delhi and the Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan participated in padayatra in Vijayawada along with the Left parties.

Accusing the Central government of conducting itself in an undemocratic manner, Naidu said that BJP leadership had failed to ensure the decorum of Parliament by not allowing the no-confidence motion moved by the TDP. He observed that this was a gross violation of the Constitution of India.

Naidu reiterated the demand that the Central government must implement the 18 promises made under the AP Reorganisation Act and other promises made in Rajya Sabha by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh while passing the AP Reorganisation Act.

Minister and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh said that the TDP MPs were brutally thrown out of Parliament while sitting on a protest in the House on Thursday. The BJP was repeating what the Congress did during bifurcating the state, he said. The Central government insulted the TDP MPs who were fighting for Telugu people in New Delhi, Lokesh added.