Former Minister and Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham on Monday declared that he and his wife Padmavathi had ended the hunger strike following an assurance from Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Mr. Naidu’s emissaries, Labour and Sports Minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu and TDP A.P. State unit president and MLA Kimidi Kala Venkatrao, conveyed the message to the Kapu leader who was on a fast seeking inclusion of Kapus in the Backward Classes list.
“In view of the larger interests of my community, I was forced to take to the streets. Maybe with a few exceptions and compromises, I am breaking my fast and appealing to all my supporters to follow suit,” Mr. Padmanabham said in a press conference on Monday afternoon.
The two-member team had a one-and-half-hour meeting with Mr. Padmanabham from 11.45 p.m. and the outcome was announced to waiting mediapersons at around 1.40 p.m.
Mr. Kala Venkatrao told the media, “Our discussions have ended fruitfully as Mr. Padmanabham, who is good old friend of ours, with a kind heart cooperated and agreed to withdraw his ‘deeksha’ on mutually agreed issues.”
He said that the Chief Minister was committed to implementing the assurances given to the Kapu community in the party manifesto.
“I will take the responsibility in conveying the feelings of the community and Mr. Padmanabham in my party meetings,” he added.
Both Mr. Atchannaidu and Mr. Venkatrao emphasised that the government would not do injustice to the Backward Classes and appealed them not to be instigated by “some people with ulterior motives.” Mr. Atchannaidu said, “In the guise of Kapu quota, some people from outside indulged in large-scale violence. Mr. Padmanabham had taken up many agitations in the past on the same issue. But they were incident-free.”
The government emissaries told Mr. Padmanabham that the police would not implicate any innocent person in the Tuni incident (in which large-scale arson had taken place and Ratnachal Express was burnt), but a thorough investigation would be done and stringent action taken on those responsible. Mr. Venkatrao said that the demand for inclusion of a Kapu leader in the Justice Manjunatha Commission would be conveyed to the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister had already issued orders to the officials to clear all applications for financial assistance without any limit, he said.
Meanwhile, former Union Minister and actor Chiranjeevi and PCC president N. Raghuveera Reddy who arrived from Hyderabad to meet Mr. Padmanabham were not allowed to leave the Rajahmundry airport in the afternoon. Another former Union Minister Dasari Narayana Rao was not allowed to come outside the hotel in the early hours at Rajamahendravaram.
There was heavy police deployment at the hotel and all roads leading to it were blocked
Vijayawada Staff Reporter writes:
Seven days after it was set ablaze by protesters, the Ratnachal Express resumed its journey in Vijayawada on Monday without much fanfare with a truncated number of 17 coaches.
Mr. Naidu’s emissaries, Labour and Sports Minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu and TDP A.P. State unit president and MLA Kimidi Kala Venkatrao, conveyed the message to the Kapu leader who was on a fast seeking inclusion of Kapus in the Backward Classes list.
“In view of the larger interests of my community, I was forced to take to the streets. Maybe with a few exceptions and compromises, I am breaking my fast and appealing to all my supporters to follow suit,” Mr. Padmanabham said in a press conference on Monday afternoon.
The two-member team had a one-and-half-hour meeting with Mr. Padmanabham from 11.45 p.m. and the outcome was announced to waiting mediapersons at around 1.40 p.m.
Mr. Kala Venkatrao told the media, “Our discussions have ended fruitfully as Mr. Padmanabham, who is good old friend of ours, with a kind heart cooperated and agreed to withdraw his ‘deeksha’ on mutually agreed issues.”
He said that the Chief Minister was committed to implementing the assurances given to the Kapu community in the party manifesto.
“I will take the responsibility in conveying the feelings of the community and Mr. Padmanabham in my party meetings,” he added.
Both Mr. Atchannaidu and Mr. Venkatrao emphasised that the government would not do injustice to the Backward Classes and appealed them not to be instigated by “some people with ulterior motives.” Mr. Atchannaidu said, “In the guise of Kapu quota, some people from outside indulged in large-scale violence. Mr. Padmanabham had taken up many agitations in the past on the same issue. But they were incident-free.”
The government emissaries told Mr. Padmanabham that the police would not implicate any innocent person in the Tuni incident (in which large-scale arson had taken place and Ratnachal Express was burnt), but a thorough investigation would be done and stringent action taken on those responsible. Mr. Venkatrao said that the demand for inclusion of a Kapu leader in the Justice Manjunatha Commission would be conveyed to the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister had already issued orders to the officials to clear all applications for financial assistance without any limit, he said.
Meanwhile, former Union Minister and actor Chiranjeevi and PCC president N. Raghuveera Reddy who arrived from Hyderabad to meet Mr. Padmanabham were not allowed to leave the Rajahmundry airport in the afternoon. Another former Union Minister Dasari Narayana Rao was not allowed to come outside the hotel in the early hours at Rajamahendravaram.
There was heavy police deployment at the hotel and all roads leading to it were blocked
Vijayawada Staff Reporter writes:
Seven days after it was set ablaze by protesters, the Ratnachal Express resumed its journey in Vijayawada on Monday without much fanfare with a truncated number of 17 coaches.
HAPPY Mahatma Gandhi Birth Anniversary