Hyderabad, July 22: Alleging that the self-respect of the Telugus has been wounded due to the handling of the Babli row by the Congress governments, Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu has demanded that the Centre protect the interests of the lower riparian state respecting the federal structure of the country.
Speaking at a dharna held near the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the premises of the Legislative Assembly here today, Naidu blamed the Centre for the insult meted out to the Andhra Pradesh people’s representatives by Maharashtra policemen.
Naidu, who was forcibly sent back from Maharashtra last night, staged a dharna along with his party MLAs, MLCs and MPs here today against the Babli project.
“The Maharashtra government has ill-treated people’s representatives of another state and acted against the federal spirit of the country. The present days remind me of the days when TDP founder NT Rama Rao was dethroned. The selfrespect of Telugus was wounded badly. AICC president Sonia Gandhi, prime minister Manmohan Singh and chief minister K Rosaiah have kept quiet on Babli. If this is the situation, how can national integration, as professed by Ambedkar, be maintained?’’ Naidu narrated the five-day ordeal they went through in the judicial custody in Maharashtra.
“I have never had such an experience in my life.
We have escaped by the grace of God. If our gunmen revolted and opened fire, the Maharashtra police could have taken it as an opportunity to kill all of us,’’ Naidu said and claimed that they had maintained utmost restraint.
Accusing chief minister Rosaiah of not taking up the matter seriously with the Centre, Naidu thundered: “The state does not want such a helpless, inefficient and shameless chief minister.’’ He also accused Assembly speaker N Kiran Kumar Reddy of not taking up the MLAs’ plight with the Centre.
“The Maharashtra police humiliated us. We had no food, water or proper facilities to ease ourselves off. We were treated like animals,’’ the leader of the opposition recalled.
Reiterating that the Babli agitation was nothing to do with the byelections, Naidu said that even if the TDP won all the 12 Assembly seats it would not come to power. Several other leaders too narrated their harrowing experiences in Maharashtra.
Congratulating Naidu and his team, CPI state secretary K Narayana held the governments of the Centre, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra responsible for the Babli row. All members of the TDP delegation, except E Dayakar Rao, were good persons and there was no reason for the Maharashtra police to prevent them from visiting the project site, the CPI leader remarked.
Later, the TDP delegation visited NTR Ghat and took a vow to protect the self-respect of the Telugus and bring the past glory to the state.
–Agencies