Andhra CM Holds Fast on His B’day, Demands Special Status for AP

Naidu, who turned 68, chose to spend his birthday in a ‘Dharma Porata Deeksha’.

Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. 

(Photo: Reuters)

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu started his 12-hour long fast on Friday, 20 April, to protest against the Centre’s “indifferent attitude” towards the state.

According to The New Indian Express, Naidu, who turned 68 on Friday, chose to spend his birthday in a ‘Dharma Porata Deeksha,’ for the “injustices” met out to the state, one of them being the Special Category Status that it was denied.

Naidu walked into the Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation stadium in Vijayawada, where he observing the fast, at 7 am, the report added.

A crowd of his supporters, which included members of his party, members of other organisations, students, employees and women, came to the stadium to show solidarity to his cause.

Naidu had announced his intention to hold the fast at a meeting in Guntur district last week, adding that there would be “no compromise on the state’s rights.”

Naidu’s fast, demanding the implementation of the provisions in AP Reorganisation Act, however, received severe criticism from the YSR Congress, the Congress, and other Opposition parties that said that he was only holding it to acquire a favourable political status in the upcoming elections, The New Indian Express reported.

(With inputs from The New Indian Express)