The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Congress, TD flay KCR’s stir against migrants

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Congress, TD flay KCR’s stir against migrants

Agitation only meant for survival of Telangana Rashtra Samiti, says Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka

Ex-MLA Bajireddy targets KCR for creating panic among migrants
TRS not earnest about resuming land assigned to SCs and STs, says Telugu Desam

HYDERABAD: The Congress reacted sharply to the struggle launched by the TRS to resume the assigned lands in possession of non-local people in the Telangana region.

Government Chief Whip Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka launched a scathing attack on the TRS president K.Chandrasekhar Rao’s decision to stage a protest demonstration in Papannapet mandal headquarters on Tuesday alleging that over 1,300 acres of assigned land was in the possession of migrants from Andhra region.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Vikramarka said the agitation was only for the political survival of the TRS chief.

He said Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao was enacting this drama to divert people’s attention from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls as his party could not muster the courage to enter the fray fearing a debacle.

Poser to KCR

He wondered how people who had settled in the area four to five decades ago could be sent back.

He said the government was very much aware of the rights of the weaker sections and was doing everything to provide them assigned lands.

Former MLA Bajireddi Goverdhan Reddy lashed out Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao for creating panic among migrants.

He questioned whether the TRS chief was not aware of the encroachments and purchase of assigned lands by settlers when he was a Minister in the TDP Government.

TDP reaction

The Telugu Desam Party also said that the TRS agitation was more to do with its political future than interest in resuming land assigned to SCs and STs.

Responding to a question at a press conference, party MLA and spokesman A. Revanth Reddy said unauthorised occupation of assigned land was an issue that affected the entire State and was not confined to a particular area or region.

The government should reclaim such land and return it to the sections for whom it was meant.

He did not respond directly to a question on the counter agitation launched by the party MLA, M. Hanumantha Rao, in Medak but said the party believed in using all constitutional methods to see that assigned land was restored to weaker sections.

BJP stand

Meanwhile, BJP national secretary N. Indrasena Reddy on Tuesday condemned the campaign launched by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti against migrants occupying assigned lands.

In a statement, he said the language used by Mr. Rao would rouse passions and create a scare among people.

Criticising the TRS for trying to create a rift among people living peacefully, he stated that Telangana statehood should be achieved politically, and not by provoking people.

He said the current situation was different from what prevailed in 1969 as lakhs people from the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema areas have settled in Telangana. Many students from Telangana are pursuing professional courses in the educational institutions, the BJP leader pointed out.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh