The Rayalaseema Parirakshana Samithi will organise a meeting of people hailing from the Rayalaseema region in Hyderabad on August 26 to discuss the demand for a separate Rayalaseema demand and formulate a strategy to launch a movement to achieve the goal.
RSPS presdient Byreddi Rajasekhara Reddy, who is also general secretary of the Telugu Desam, says that it is the right time for all political parties to state their stances on the separate Rayalaseema demand. He has already written to all political parties making this request. He says he will tour all the four districts in the region to drump up support for his demand. Joint action committees (JACs) from the mandal to district levels will be formed to conduct the movement for separate state. Cultural wings will also be formed to highlight the importance of the region.
In an exclusive interview with Express, the RSPS leader says his organisation wants the state to remain united. In case the Centre decides to carve Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh, it should create a Rayalaseema state as well, he demands.
The Rayalaseema leader says he is convinced that Telangana state might be delivered. ``The Congress-led UPA government cannot afford to disregard the aspirations of the people of Telangana because if it does it is certain to lose its base in that region. In case the BJP-led NDA rides to power at the Centre in 2014, it won’t delay Telangana. When all the political parties are supporting the Telangana demand, there seems no way one can stop the state’s division.’’
He says that the people Rayalaseema are not willing to stay with costal Andhra or Telangana, for their region will lose its politiacl, historical and cultural identity. Reddy dismisses as baseless the argument that trifurcation is not economically advisable. He says that the region has lots of uranium and other mineral deposits, potential forests and attractive tourist spots to keep its economy buoyant all the time, he contends.