Naidu breaks fast, says Centre wants to take hold of Andhra

Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) [India], Apr. 20 (ANI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who broke his one-day hunger strike on Friday, said that the Centre wants to take the state into their hold.

After ending his fast over 'Centre's non-cooperation with the state', the Chief Minister said, "Centre wants to take hold of Andhra Pradesh, similar to what they did with Tamil Nadu. I will not let that happen. Center is colluding with the YSRCP, as they are afraid that we will not bow in front of them."

He added, "I will not compromise on state's interests. All kinds of unions and organizations came here and expressed solidarity. This is historic. But, few political parties didn't come, as they have different agenda."

It is notable that today is also Naidu's birthday. Naidu sat on hunger strike at Indira Gandhi Stadium for 12 hours demanding "justice" for the state, including the special category status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh.

He is fighting against the Central government for not fulfilling the promises made at the time of state reorganization and for not giving special category status to the state of Andhra Pradesh.

The Chief Minister also made it very clear that struggle is not personal but between the Center and the state.

Parties like Samara Party, Nava Samaj Party, Lok Satta, Aam Aadmi Party, Revolutionary Socialist Party, and All India Forward Bloc extended their support to Naidu.

Pratyeka Hoda Sadhana Samiti (Association for Special Status) convenor Chalasani Srinivas appealed to Naidu to take up indefinite hunger strike in the national capital. He also suggested all the parties in Andhra Pradesh to unite to fight for special status and other promises made by the Centre.

The hunger strike is called 'Dharma Porata Deeksha' or 'Fight for Justice'. The strategy for the hunger strike was finalised by the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet, chaired by Naidu, on Monday.

Naidu has been calling for the special category status to Andhra Pradesh. Asserting his demand, the TDP had quit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) last month.

The SCS was first accorded in 1969 to Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Nagaland. Over the years, eight more states were added to the list - Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura and, finally, in 2010, Uttarakhand. (ANI)