States Watch

ANDHRA PRADESH

Congress Demands CM's Resignation

HYDERABAD: The Congress leaders, under the leadership of Hyderabad City congress president, Shri Anjan Kumar Yadav, organized a mass rally and dharna in front of the Hyderabad District Collectorate office here on 19 December and demanded the resignation of the state chief minister, Shri Chandrababu Naidu following the directive of a court order to probe charges against him and his ministers in the liquor purchase scam.

Joining the dharna was Shri Nara Ramamurthy Naidu, brother of Chandrababu Naidu who joined the Congress party recently. Shri Ramamurthy highlighted the kickbacks received from liquor companies by several ministers, including chief minister Chandrababu Naidu.

During the dharna, the former CLP leader, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, and the PCC president, D. Srinivas, accused the Chief Minister of developing dictatorial tendencies and of becoming increasingly hostile to any criticism of his rule. The caretaker Chief Minister was misusing his position to a great extent for conducting his party programmes, they said citing the photographs of Government vehicles used to ferry people to the meetings of the ruling party.

The Chief Minister should own responsibility for encouraging corruption in a big way on two counts _ one for turning a blind eye to it and the second for his involvement in the deals _ they alleged. The liquor pricing issue was just a tip of the iceberg, they said.

The burden of proof (of his innocence) lay on the shoulders of the Chief Minister and he should avail of the opportunity to allow, a probe by the ACB to come out clean in the episode, they said.

The spontaneous response of people to the Congress bus yatra throughout the State, was a sign of an anti-establishment wave waiting to be unleashed by the voters in the next elections. Eight long years of Mr. Naidu's misrule would come to an end shortly and people could expect to lead a better life soon, they said. The TDP rule would go down in history as a pro-rich rule confined to the development of a part of Hyderabad _ between the Airport and Jubilee Hills.

Shri Naidu could no longer fool people by making tall claims, as there was no visible development at all in the State, they said referring to the slide in the agriculture and industrial sectors. Irrigation was another area that suffered from long-time neglect and the power sector was reeling under reforms. Any continuation of the reforms initiated by Shri Naidu would ruin the economy further and greatly enhance the people's misery, they cautioned. People would not wait forever for the fruits of his Vision-2020 to reach them, they said referring to Shri Naidu's claim that the reforms needed some more time to bear fruit.

The last leg of the Congress Prajahita Bus Yatra from the APCC headquarters has begun and will cover the South Telangana districts of Mahbubnagar, Ranga Reddy, Medak and parts of Nizamabad (North Telengana).

Senior leaders, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. D. Srinivas, M. Satyanarayana Rao, N. Janardhan Reddy, N. Bhaskar Rao and others would take part in the yatra that will be led by the CWC member, Ghulam Nabi Azad.

The yatra will reach Telkapalli via Amangal and then proceed to Pebbair via Kollapur. Later, Jadcherla and Mahbubnagar would be covered by the leaders.

Congress Backs Striking Junior Doctors

HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad City Congress under its president, Shri Anjan Kumar Yadav staged a mass dharna and Rasta Roko programme near the Osmania General Hospital here on 31 December to express solidarity with the agitating Junior Doctors, supporting their demands. Over one thousand Congress activists besides scrores of Junior doctors participated in the dharna in protest against the flawed policies of the TDP on medical and health front.

The Congress activists who blocked the main road by squatting were later arrested by the police. Senior Congress leaders and AICC secretary, Shri V. Hanumantha Rao, former minister, Shri Marri Shashidhar Reddy and the APCC Doctors' Cell chairman, Dr. Gangadhar also participated.

The Congress activists and doctors demanded that in the larger interests of the poor and common man, immediate lifting of the User Charges in Government hospitals and scrapping of the controversial G.O. 90 as was wanted by the doctors on stir.