Hyderabad: Mild tension prevailed outside the residence of Y.S. Sharmila’s residence here on Wednesday as some farmers from Andhra Pradesh tried to lay siege protesting her stand on Krishna waters issue.
A group of farmers led by AP Parirakshana Samithi leader K. Srinivasulu staged the protest against Sharmila’s recent statement amid a row between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project (RLIP)
Alleging that Sharmila’s statement amounts to doing injustice to Rayalaseema, they raised slogans against her.
Sharmila is sister of Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and daughter of former chief minister of combined Andhra Pradesh Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.
Her supporters entered into an argument with the protesters. Later, police detained the protesters and shifted them to Banjara Hills police station.
“We will not let go a single drop of Telangana,” Sharmila had tweeted on Monday amid the ongoing row between the two Telugu states over RLIP.
“We will not hesitate to fight against any one,” she said in an obvious reference to Andhra Pradesh’s YSRCP government led by her brother.
Sharmila has already announced that she will be taking a plunge into politics in Telangana by launching a new party on July 8, the birth anniversary of her father.
Jagan Mohan Reddy is said to be opposed to her sister’s plans to float a new party in Telangana.
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are currently engaged in a war or words over sharing of Krishna waters. The Telangana government has taken objection to Andhra Pradesh going ahead with RLIP saying this would be detrimental to the interests of Telangana.
The Telangana government has approached the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to prevent Andhra Pradesh from proceeding with the illegal construction of the project and also send a fact-finding committee to the project site.
The Andhra Pradesh government, on the other hand, maintains that it is not using a drop of water more than what is allotted to it by KRMB.