VIJAYAWADA: Drawing inspiration from the recent jallikattu protests in Tamil Nadu, the students and youth of Vijayawada city are gearing up to jolt the Centre into taking notice of their demand for Special Category Status (SCS) through a protest at Prakasam Barrage.
Invitations for the event on social media sites have garnered a significant number of responses with many students indicating their willingness to be a part of the silent demonstration.
Stirs have been planned at other locations too, including R K Beach in Visakhapatnam and Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati, on Republic Day. Despite the absence of a public figure as a leader, the youngsters are determined that their team spirit will create a significant impact on the powers that be.
Several celebrities and politicos had urged the youth to rise up to the occasion and stake claim for what was promised in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, including actor Pawan Kalyan who tweeted, “If the youth of Andhra are planning to do a silent protest on 26th Jan at RK Beach, Vizag, Janasena Supports them.”
The post was retweeted by thousands of youth. Calls for participation are circulating on Watsapp, Facebook, Twitter and many other social networking sites.
Taking their cue from Pawan, Tollywood stars Nikhil, Varun Tej and others have lent support for protests demanding SCS. A few of the celebrities have already announced their plans to take part in the protest rally at Visakhapatnam’s RK beach. Young heroes from Tollywood and other professionals from the film industry are en route to the steel city.
Students in Vijayawada have set their focus on the protest rally at Prakasam Barrage demanding for Special Category Status. Students from SRR & CVR college, Andhra Loyola college, Siddhartha Group of Institutions etc are going to take part in the rally.
Apart from student unions Except for ABVP and TNSF, all other major students unions including SFI, AISF, NSUI and PDSU among others have announced their participation.
“It’s been more than two years for AP and still there are unfulfilled promises from the Centre. At least now every individual has to come forward and fight for special status. We are not going to step back or call off our protests until the Central government announces a positive decision. The youth will showcase their fighting spirits,” said Noor Mohammad, SFI state president.
The city police meanwhile is on its toes and arrangements are being made to ensure that the protests remain peaceful. The cops of the city have already put their forces on high alert to deter any extremist threat on Republic Day. City Police Commissioner Gautam Sawang said not a single group had sought permission.