On rakhi, Andhra women ask brother Modi for special status as gift
Synopsis
The people of Andhra Pradesh are miffed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and are resorting to novel forms of protest to express their anger at him for going back on his word. Modi had assured that he would look into according special category status to the state.
Women and girls in hundreds today staged a Rakhi protest in Anakapalli, while Tollywood hero Sivaji offered tarpanam (last respects) in Krishna River today on the occasion of the ongoing 12-day river festival, pushkaralu.
The Rakhi protest in Anakapalli, a commercial town in North Coastal Andhra Pradesh, was organized by North Coastal Andhra Development Forum floated by former minister Konanthala Ramakrishna.
A life-size cutout of the Prime Minister was erected for the Rakhi protest at the city square. Though not publicized early, the novel protest attracted hundreds of women and girls who tied Rakhi to the Prime Minister’s portrait reminding him of the assurance he had given to the people about the special category status. They urged the Prime Minister to implement the assurance as a Rakhi gift.
On the other side, hero Sivaji offered tarpanam to all those who sacrificed their lives in the fight for special category status. He also performed the ritual ‘Pinda Pradanam’ to what he branded as the 'saboteurs of the special status cause'. In a clear dig at Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his son Nara Lokesh, he said some people had subverted the peoples' fight by stating that the special status was not Sanjeevani (healing balm) for the ills of Andhra Pradesh.
Commenting on the issue, Congress Rajya Sabha member KVP Ramachandra Rao said there was no public meeting which Narendra Modi addressed in Andhra Pradesh during his 2014 election campaign where he had not promised special status to Andhra.
KVP, who recently moved a private members’ bill on the subject, said every citizen of Andhra Pradesh was demanding special status. “Protests will soon erupt in every village if PM continues to ignore his own promise,” he said.