Congress leaders under fire as Seemandhra rages

HYDERABAD: Seemandhra activists, seething with rage, attacked Congress offices and properties of party leaders ' PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana's in particular ' across the region on Friday in protest against the Centre's decision to divide the State.

Under intense pressure, Ministers from Seemandhra, both at the Centre and the State, appeared panicky. The Congress high command sought to allay fears and 'placate' Union Ministers Pallam Raju, Chiranjeevi and Suryaprakash Reddy, who had resigned Thursday soon after the Cabinet decision.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rang up Chiranjeevi and asked him not to take a hasty decision as the government was keen on doing justice to Seemandhra. Pallam Raju met party president Sonia Gandhi and it is learnt that she told him he could help ensure justice to Seemandhra as he's been made a part of the Group of Ministers set up to look into issues arising out of bifurcation. Suryaprakash Reddy, however, handed over his resignation to the PM.

Two other Union Ministers from Seemandhra D Purandeswari and Killi Kripa Rani faxed their resignations on Friday while their colleagues Panabaka Lakshmi and JD Seelam are reportedly in no mood to quit.

In Hyderabad, Seemandhra Ministers rushed to Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy. After a lengthy meeting, Minister S Sailajanath said, 'We have decided to wait till the T resolution is introduced in the Assembly. We will resign after defeating it.'

Kiran, sources said, commented that there was no need to panic since there was no way the T State could be formed before 2014 elections. Nonetheless, Minister Erasu Pratap Reddy resigned from the post and the party too.

YSRC president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, meanwhile, announced indefinite hunger strikes. Naidu hopes his stir in the national capital will have maximum impact on the Centre.

Responding to the 48-hr bandh call, Seemandhra literally shutdown. Bus services to Tirumala were stopped and are likely to be resumed only on Saturday evening.

PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana's home residence in Vizianagaram was attacked by Samaikyandhra activists Police tried to chase them away and when they did not budge, lobbed tear gas shells. The agitators in retaliation attacked the police with stones and damaged police vehicles.

In Anakapalle in Visakhapatnam district, the activists held up traffic on the Chennai-Kolkata national highway. Visakhapatnam city wore a deserted look. At the Jagadamba Centre, tension prevailed with YSRC and TDP workers coming to blows.

In Rajahumundry, Kakinada, Kothapet and Vijayawada, Congress offices were raided by the activists. The agitators held up trains at Samalkot, Kadiyam and Godavari railway stations.

In Guntur, they tried to lay siege to Minister K Lakshminarayana's residence and a similar protest was held at the house of Speaker Nadendla Manohar in Tenali. In Anantapur, YSRC and TDP workers clashed at Saptagiri Junction while at Urava Konda, traffic was held up.

At Railway Kodur and Rajampet, agitators staged rasta rokos. They also stopped trains in the district. At Sullurpet in Nellore district, the demonstrators held up vehicular traffic on the Chennai-Kolkata national highway from morning till evening.

Earlier in the day, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh ruled out the possibility of going back on the Telangana decision.