VIJAYAWADA: In an unprecedented move, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who turns 68 on Friday, will not celebrate his birthday. Instead, he will observe a day-long Deekha christened Dharma Porata Deeksha (fight for justice) protesting the ‘indifferent’ attitude of the Centre towards Andhra Pradesh.
The Telugu Desam Party supremo’s decision to observe a day-long fast is seen as a step to wrest the initiative from the opposition YSR Congress, whose MPs quit their posts on the issue of special category status and organised a hunger strike in New Delhi to press their demand.
The Chief Minister’s Deeksha is intended to send a message to the people that the TDP regime will not compromise on State’s interests, besides mounting pressure on the BJP-led NDA government to implement all the provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act. On the eve of his Deeksha, the Chief Minister wrote an open letter to the people of the State exhorting them to extend their total support to his fight against the Centre for the cause of AP.
He made it clear that he was determined to achieve all the benefits promised to the State at the time of bifurcation by intensifying the stir in a democratic manner. Naidu found fault with the opposition parties for enforcing a State bandh recently demanding special status, which caused severe inconvenience to people. He has come up with the Deeksha, which is a peaceful protest, to avoid any inconvenience to people as it does not disrupt normal life.
The Krishna district administration has made elaborate arrangements at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation Stadium, the venue of Deeksha. Two daises have been erected at the venue as about 200 people’s representatives from Krishna and Guntur districts are expected to sit on fast along with Naidu from 7 am to 7 pm. Other TDP MPs, MLAs and MLCs will observe Deeksha in their respective constituencies. All political parties and people’s organisations have been urged to extend their support to the Chief Minister’s fast.
To mobilise people for the Chief Minister’s Deeksha from neighbouring districts, hundreds of APSRTC and private buses have been deployed. Cultural programmes highlighting the injustice done to AP in allocation of funds and unfulfilled promises will also be staged at the venue to justify the demands of the State. Meanwhile, the YSRC, Congress and Left parties have ridiculed the Deeksha of Naidu by stating that the Chief Minister who was silent on the injustice done to State by the NDA regime for four long years, has come up with the new game plan to gain political mileage in the ensuing elections. However, several people’s organisations and employees’ associations have expressed their solidarity to the Chief Minister’s Deeksha.