Will Byreddy turns KCR of Seema? - TeluguPeople.com News

Hyderabad: 'Choose between one eye and three eyes, the two eyes theory is not acceptable'. That seems to be a message intended to be sent by Byreddy Rajasekhara Reddy, a TDP leader from Kurnool district, for Chandrababu Naidu, the TDP Chief.

Byreddy launched a 96-hour fast on Saturday demanding that either of the two options be accepted by the political parties and governments in Hyderabad and Delhi.

There have been self respect movements in Rayalaseema demanding its share in river waters and political power. YS Rajasekhara Reddy and Mysoora Reddy led movements to safeguard the interests of Rayalaseema region. MV Ramana Reddy is another leader who has been speaking for Rayalaseema for some time.

But during the 'Jai Andhra' movement in 1972 and the Samaikyandhra movement in the wake of Chidambaram's statement on December 9, 2009, when the TDP and the Congress leaders of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema have resigned in tandem, there has not been any move to demand a separate Rayalaseema State. In fact, the nomenclature 'Seemandhra' has been coined during this movement.

BV Subbareddy, the then deputy chief minister and a senior Congress leader hailing from Kurnool district, was in the forefront of Jai Andhra movement along with Kakani Venkataratnam, described as Iron Man who died during the movement.

Only when some leaders, again from Kurnool district, started talking about 'Rayala Telangana', the leaders from Telangana had commented on the subject.

TG Venkatesh and Pratap Reddy, members of the State Cabinet, visited Delhi soon after the by-elections which were swept by YSR Congress Party, and spoke of Centre's thinking in terms of dividing the State into two equal parts by clubbing two Rayalaseema districts-Anantapur and Kurnool with Telangana and create 'Rayala Telangana'. This proposal did not receive support from any quarters.

There has been a feeling among political leaders of all hues that the four districts of Rayalaseema cannot be carved into a separate state as it would not be viable. But as Byreddy said there are a number of States in the country which are smaller than Rayalaseema in terms of area and population.

TG Venkatesh has been talking about Rayalaseema's interests and but did not venture to launch a movement demanding a separate State. Byreddy is perhaps planning to take advantage of the sense of hurt entertained by the people of Rayalaseema as that area is being bandied as a point of bargain. The area is sought to be divided without consulting the people of Rayalaseema.

Byreddy who lost the last two consecutive general elections may be hoping to encash the sentiments of the people of Rayalaseema.

His programmes show that he has taken a leaf from K Chandrasekhara Rao who has been heading the movement for separate Telangana for more than a decade. Byreddy has organized folk artistes from Seema on the lines of Rasamayi Balakishan's 'dhoom dhaam'.

Though Byreddy's connections and popularity are confined to two constituencies, Nandikotkur and Panyam, he may be able to mobilise support from all parts of the district since he is the first leader to take the initiative and no other senior leader is prepared to compete with him in this connection for one reason or another.

He has organized pan-Rayalaseema organization earlier during his first term as MLA. Rayalaseema Youth Service Society under his leadership was active for a brief while and it remained dormant ever since. He can claim to have been fighting for the rights of Rayalaseema people.

It is natural that TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu is suspected to have encouraged Byreddy to launch an agitation to neutralise the influence of the Telangana movement on one hand and the popularity of the YSRCP on the other hand.

Byreddy hails from a community in Rayalalseema which is politically powerful. But he does not have many friends either in the TDP or the Congress.

The only leader who can be said to be close to him is Irregala Ramapulla Reddy, a TDP leader from Allagadda, who lost to Sobha Nagireddy.

Byreddy Seshasayana Reddy, father of Rajasekhara Reddy, a 3-term MLA, is living in their native village, Manchumarri of Padigyal mandal in Nandikotkur constituency.

The elder Byreddy is not a force in politics today as has been involved in cultivation. Even in TDP, Byreddy Rajasekhara Reddy is pitted against KE Krishnamurthy and KE Prabhakar. Byreddy is not a docile leader who is very obedient to the party boss.

He is an independent person like Bhuma Nagireddy who has his own mind and would not take orders from anyone. As of now, Chandrababu Naidu looks annoyed with this development.

There is no apparent reason to believe that he is behind Rajasekhara Reddy. One has to watch the TDP chief in the next few days and see if he would travel to Kurnool to give lime water to Rajasekhara Reddy on Tuesday to mark the end of the fast.