Anti-Telangana protesters defy order, hold rail roko in Guntur

Anti-Telangana activists on Sunday held protests on railway tracks here delaying at least two long-distance trains, the police said. The Seshadri Express and the Janmabhumi Express were delayed for at least two hours due to the agitation which was part of the ongoing protests in Seemandhra region against Centre's decision to carve out separate Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh.

Interestingly, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Ispector General of Police V Dinesh Reddy on Thursday warned Samaikyandhra agitators of stringent action if they went ahead with their proposed rail roko agitation in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.

The agitators squatted on the railway track and raised slogans demanding resignations of public representatives and ministers hailing from Seemandhra regions to bring pressure on the Congress government at Centre to rescind its decision on creation of Telangana.

They relented only after passengers from the held up trains requested them. Former Telugu Desam Party leader Dr Umareddi Venkateswarlu, who recently joined YSR Congress, alleged that Congress president Sonia Gandhi allowed bifurcation of state with an ulterior motive to consolidate Congress base in the separate state.

He was speaking at YSR Congress satyagraha camp in Guntur.