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AP leader demands South Bastar's merger with state

Padma Bhushan Vavilala Gopala Krishnayya, a freedom-fighter, today demanded the merger of Madhya Pradesh's South Bastar district with Andhra Pradesh, as most of the people living there are Telugu speakers.

Talking to reporters in Vijayawada, Krishnayya pointed out that a commission appointed earlier for the reorganisation of states had stated that the Girijan tribals in south Bastar are Telugu-speaking people.

The inclusion of South Bastar district in the proposed Chhattisgarh state will cause hardships to the Telugu-speaking people, he said.

South Bastar Telugu Association secretary B Srimannarayana, who was also present, said more than 50 per cent of the people in the district speak Telugu. They had recently launched an agitation, demanding its merger with Andhra Pradesh, he added.

UNI

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