Seething Rayalaseema issues 90-day ultimatum to CM Naidu

Taking the Rayalaseema movement to new heights, the Steel Plant Sadhana Samiti of Rayalaseema today issued an ultimatum to the MLAs of the four districts in the region to get a concrete commitment for setting up a steel plant or face the wrath of the people in the next Assembly session.

“Out of the 52 MLas from the region, At least one should raise the steel plant issue in the next Andhra Pradesh Assembly session, scheduled to commence from September 8, and get a date fixed for the laying of a foundation from chief minister Chandrababu Naidu’s government. If you fail, you will be named as the traitors of Rayalaseema,” declared Samiti president G Praveen Kumar Reddy in Proddatur, Kadapa district. 

About 20 thousand people gathered to finalise the agitational plan for the steel plant in a meeting called “Rayalaseema Atma Gaurava Sabha”.
 

Citizens from the region have been agitating for the setting up of a steel plant in Kadapa district, alleging that chief minister Naidu was ignoring the region’s development. 

In its last meeting, the non-partisan Steel Plant Sadhana Samiti demanded that CM Naidu clearly state his stand on the steel plant. The organisation is of the opinion that only the steel plant can open employment opportunities in the backwards region.  

After receiving no response from the CM, the Samiti issued an ultimatum, adopted at the meeting held at the local municipal grounds. The city reverberated with the slogan of  “Kadapa Ukku, Seema Hakku”.

The steel plant agitation is snowballing into a Rayalaseema movement because of the failure of crops in the region, and inadequate rescue measures from the state government.  

In 2015, about 2 lakh acres did not receive water from the Kurnool Cuddappah (KC) Canal, the only lifeline in the region. 

This year, the situation has been worsened by the failure of the monsoons.  

People allege that Naidu’s lack of interest in the region has aggravated the situation in Rayalaseema. To add to the fire, yesterday the CM reportedly said in Anantapur district that the people in the area were suffering because they believed more in the God of Rains than in him. 

This alleged statement has further infuriated many farmers.
 
 
Begun just six months ago, the steel plant movement does not allow any politician to join it and has mustered support from trade organisations,  community groups, textile merchants, the Federation of privates schools,  journalists, weavers’ bodies and caste organisations such as Arya Vysya welfare society. 

Today, all of those organisations pledged their support to the Steel Plant Sadhana Samiti’s ultimatum.
 

Taking a dig at the region's MLAs and MPs from both the opposition and ruling parties for not safeguarding the region’s interests, Praveen Kumar Reddy, an engineering graduate, alleged that the government had played every trick in the book to scuttle the public meeting.
 

“They (those in power) forced the media OB vans, which came to give live coverage of the meeting, to withdraw from the venue. Ruling party members tried to stop people from coming to the meeting. They mounted pressure on the police to reject permission for the meeting. These attempts failed miserably,” he said.

Issuing another ultimatum to chief minister Naidu, he said that all associations would launch a relay fast, and he would go on fast unto death if Naidu’s government failed to announce a decision on the establishment of a steel plant in next 90 days.

Praveen Reddy was critical of both chief minister Naidu and opposition leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy. 

“While Naidu’s policies are evidently anti-Rayalaseema, Jagan is conspicuously bypassing the region's issues. We do not care about their politics. We demand that both Naidu and Jagan join hands and get the clause on the steel plant in the Bifurcation Act implemented in 90 days or face the music after it,”  he warned.

The meeting also issued an ultimatum to sarpanches of panchayats in the region to pass a resolution demanding the state and central government build the steel plant.

“If any sarpanch goes against the wish of the people, he will be declared as a traitor to the region, and his name will be displayed on billboards in his area,” he said.

The people in the region accuse CM Naidu of diverting funds meant for the development of backwards districts. 

Extravagant Amaravati and Krishna Pushkaralu and the heavy industrialization of the Andhra region have added a new dimension to the sense of neglect in the region.   

In the next few months, resentment is expected to be expressed as movements in the region.