Cong  leaders from two regions meet CM to discuss future course of action
agencies
Hyderabad, 31 July
Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions erupted in fury today, a day after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coordination committee agreed to the division of Andhra Pradesh and the formation of a separate Telangana state.
Politicians in the two regions, however, appear to have reconciled to the fact, as unlike Tuesday, when one MP and four state legislators had announced their resignations, no public representative quit today. Congress party leaders from the two regions held a meeting with Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy to discuss their future course of action, but differences among them were visible. Some state ministers went on record that resignations will serve no purpose.
Ministers and legislators from Rayalaseema gave a new twist by demanding that the capital of Rayala Andhra (the residual state) should be built in their region and they should also get due share of river waters.
Even the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu has accepted the reality of two states. In his first reaction to the decision, he said there was nothing wrong in having two states but the Telugu-speaking people should remain united.
The former chief minister demanded that the centre build a new city at par with Hyderabad to be the capital of Andhra Pradesh. Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), a key political force in Hyderabad, which had opposed the state’s division, said it would be active in both the states for protection of the rights of minorities. Tension prevailed in Anantapur town of Rayalaseema as protestors, opposing the state’s division, ransacked an office of the Congress and set afire the statues of former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
One of the statues was demolished. Paramilitary forces and police used force and fired teargas shells to disperse protestors who attacked government and private property and pelted stones on security personnel. A man attempted self-immolation in Anantapur. Policemen doused the fire and took him to a hospital, where his condition was stated to be critical.
Protests rocked both the regions of Seemandhra as the shutdown called by Samaikya Andhra Joint Action Committee (JAC) evoked near total response in all major towns. Students and activists of various groups took to the streets. Transport came to a standstill while shops and educational institutions remained closed.