Rayalaseema Steering Committee (RSC) convener Byreddy Rajasekhar Reddy said that though the State was helmed by many Chief Ministers from the Rayalaseema region since independence, none helped the region develop, and the indiscrimination towards it is more evident under the rule of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Speaking at a press conference in Vijayawada on Monday, Mr. Rajasekhar Reddy said that Kurnool, Kadapa, Anantapur, and Chittoor districts are going to suffer due to the Upper Bhadra project taken up by Karnataka. He added that despite sending several representations to Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the CM never bothered to take up the issue with the Centre.
“To raise the issue of injustice being meted out to Rayalaseema, RSC is going to lead a ‘Chalo Delhi’ programme on July 28 and stage a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi,” Mr. Reddy said.
“At least one representation to the Centre by the Chief Minister on behalf of the people of Rayalaseema would be helpful. I invite Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy and all other leaders of the political parties to join us in the ‘Chalo Delhi’ programme and mount pressure on the Centre”Byreddy Rajasekhar ReddyRayalaseema Steering Committee convener
“At least one representation to the Centre by the Chief Minister on behalf of the people of Rayalaseema would be helpful. I invite Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy and all other leaders of the political parties to join us in the ‘Chalo Delhi’ programme and mount pressure on the Centre,” he said.
Mr. Reddy said that apart from the withdrawal of the Upper Bhadra project, the people of Rayalaseema are also demanding the construction of a road-cum-barrage across Krishna between Somasila and Kallapur in Telangana instead of the proposed 3-kilometre-wide cable bridge.
With the construction of a barrage, over 60 tmcft of water could be stored, and most of the irrigation and drinking water issues of the region could be addressed, he said.
He said the State and Central governments should fulfil the promises of setting up a steel plant by the Steel Authority of India Limited, sanctioning a package on the lines of the Bundelkhand special package and railway zone for the Guntakal division as per the Reorganisation Act.
He said Rayalaseema is also deprived of investments due to the film industry, which always poorly portrays the region as a land of faction politics and crimes.
