Journalism of Courage
On a day Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy resigned in protest against the passing of Telangana Bill in Lok Sabha, senior Congress leader from the state and Union minister V Kishore Chandra Deo said Wednesday Reddy was responsible for “whipping up” the agitation against the bifurcation in the state.
Deo, one of the few ministers from the Seemandhra region who had not offered to resign over the division, said this was not really a people’s movement, but was engineered. “The entire agitation was whipped up by Kiran Reddy. He is the main person responsible for it and also for the delay in getting the Bill through. After the division was announced, there was no agitation for three-four days. In fact, it was started only by non-gazetted government officials. All because of him. It was not an agitation by the people,” Deo told The Indian Express.
Targeting YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy, Deo said he was trying to “selectively inherit” the legacy of his father and former CM Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. “It was YSR who had sown the seeds of division in a desperate bid to become CM…He wanted the party to include it in the manifesto. Today, his son talks about a united Andhra,” Deo added.
