Congress joins chorus against Master Plan

Kamareddy: Senior Congress leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir said that the Congress party would not stop agitation until the State government withdraws the proposed new Master Plan for Kamareddy Municipality.

He was speaking to media persons after he was arrested by the police for participating in the dharna organised by the all-party committee of farmers at Gandhi Chowk in Kamareddy on Friday.

AICC vice-president of Kisan Cell M Kodanda Reddy, TPCC Kisan Cell chairman Anvesh Reddy, DCC president Kailasa Srinivas, other senior leaders and hundreds of Congress activists also participated in the dharna. Later, they were arrested by the police.

Shabbir Ali said that the agitation against the proposed Master Plan would be intensified if the State Government failed to respond to their demand.

He strongly condemned the arrest of Congress leaders and workers since Friday morning because of the Kamareddy Bandh's call given by the all-party committee. He said he had to change three vehicles to reach Kamareddy as police had barricaded all the routes to foil the agitation.

Shabbir Ali said that the BRS government is targeting the Kamareddy farmers by proposing to take away their fertile lands in the name of industrialisation. He said that the Master Plan was faulty and it was designed to help the real estate sector. He said that the ruling BRS leaders were planning to earn about Rs 20,000 crore by selling away the farmers' land.

The Congress leader strongly condemned the attitude of the ruling party towards the farmers. He said Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao, local MLA Gampa Govardhan and even the District Collector were not responding to the continuous agitation by the farmers. He said that the government did not react even after a farmer, B Ramulu, committed suicide as he feared that his fertile land would be taken away for the Master Plan.

Shabbir Ali said that Congress would stand by the farmers until the government withdraws the controversial Master Plan.

Addressing the dharna, Kodanda Reddy said that the Master Plan would hurt thousands of farmers and take away their livelihood. Condemning Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, he alleged that the BRS government forced innocent farmers to leave their fields and come onto the streets to protect their lands. He said that Kamareddy town did not need an industrial zone.

Speaking on the occasion, Anvesh Reddy said that the Kamareddy farmers need not worry as Congress would fight against the KCR government on their behalf.

Congress senior leaders including Chandrakanth Reddy, Guguda Srinivas, Karangula Ashok Reddy, Ammula Mukundam, Ganesh Naik, Bheem Reddy, I.Sandeep, Sirajuddin, Ahmedullah, Gone Srinivas, Srinivas Yadav and others also participated in the dharna.