A group of furious United Andhra JAC activists on Sunday raided the house of the YSR Congress MLA Gurunatha Reddy in Anantapur, demanding him to quit his post who was in favour a unified state.
Gurunatha Reddy was forced to tender his resignation to them, becoming the first MLA to quit for the Samaikya Andhra cause.
Later speaking to them, Gurunatha Reddy said he was an integrationist and added that resignation to legislative assembly is his personal stand and had nothing to do with the party's policy. He told the agitators, he would send his resignation letter to Speaker Nadendla Manohar if Telangana was announced.
Meanwhile, integrationists also raided Telegu Desam Party (TDP) MLA Payyavula Keshav’s house and laid a siege to the house of another TDP MLA Paritala Sunita in the district. Reflecting similar sentiments state minister Sailajanath on Sunday said he would not allow the state to be bifurcated.
Speaking at a government function he said a delegation of integrationists would be leaving for New Delhi on Monday to prevail upon the high command to keep the state united. He dismissed arguments about referendum on the status of Hyderabad as proposed by TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao.
He said Hyderabad was part of Andhra Pradesh and there would be no compromise on it. All the organisations engaged in the Telangana movement are expressing their anger at KCR for accepting the challenge tactically made by the Congress MP Lagadapati Rajagopal from coastal city of Vijayawada.
The general feeling is that the TRS chief inadvertently stirred up a hornet’s nest by yielding to the referendum proposal as the Greater Hyderabad limits house lakhs of migrants from the Seemandhra region and many other states. It is not easy to make them all vote in favour of Hyderabad being part of the Telangana state.
“It seems that KCR handed over Hyderabad in a platter to Seemandhra by accepting for a opinion poll as we don’t have an option for a referendum in our country,” a senior professor said.