The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : TRS observes `black day'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

TRS observes `black day'

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, NOV. 1. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) observed the State formation Day on Monday as `black day' in protest against annexation of Telangana with the rest of the State when it took the present geographical shape in 1956.

However, except the Union Minister of State for Rural Development, A. Narendra, none of the TRS Ministers participated in the black day. Mr. Narendra, who hoisted the black flag in the presence of a handful of supporters sporting black badges at the party office in Jubilee Hills, left for Delhi soon afterwards.

Procession

A large group of TRS activists went in a procession from the party office to the Gun Rock Park opposite the Assembly where they staged a protest with black flags in front of the Telangana martyrs memorial. The party MLAs -- E. Rajender, Padma Devender Reddy and M. Satyanarayana Reddy -- and the former Vice-Chancellor of Kakatiya University, K. Jayashanker, were among them.

Members of various outfits struggling for the Telangana cause confronted the TRS activists at Gun Rock. They argued that the TRS did not have a right to fight for the cause, as it was part of the Government.

Mr. Jayashanker warned of an intensified agitation if the Centre did not concede Statehood for Telangana.

Our Kurnool Staff Reporter adds: Meanwhile, in Kurnool, leaders of the Rayalaseema Hakkula Ikya Vedika also hoisted black flags to protest against what they called "exploitation of their region" by coastal Andhra and Telangana. They, however, paid tributes to Potti Sriramulu, who laid down his life for the cause of a unified Andhra Pradesh.

The vedika president and former MLA, T.G. Venkatesh, said inspired by the supreme sacrifice of Potti Sriramulu, who wanted to unite all Telugu speaking people, the leaders from Rayalaseema region sacrificed the Capital to Hyderabad and irrigation projects to coastal Andhra.

He said after developing the coastal Andhra agriculturally and Telengana industrially, the regions wanted to get separated now leaving Rayalaseema in utter poverty. He said the development in Rayalaseema region had got stalled and the economic loss was estimated at Rs. 50,000 crores. If anybody wanted to get separated from Andhra Pradesh, the Rayalaseema region should be paid a compensation of Rs. 50,000 crores, he said.

New trade union

Mr. Venkatesh announced formation of the Rayalaseema Trade Union and merger of TGV Trade Union with the new body.

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