Schools shut, security tightened as left calls for AP bandh today

Amaravati: Security has been tightened in Andhra Pradesh where the Left parties have called for a shutdown on Thursday to protests the injustice meted out to the state in the Union Budget 2018-19. The Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and several other smaller parties have called for the shutdown. YSR Congress and Congress have backed the shutdown call.

The ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has also called for protests in the state to express solidarity with its MPs, who have been constantly trying to stall the proceedings in both the Houses of Parliament to demand justice to the state. Schools have declared holiday as a precautionary measure and more police personnel have been deployed to prevent any untoward incident. Earlier in the day, more than 1,300 APSRTC (Andhra Pradesh Surface Road Transport Corporation) buses were stopped in Visakhapatnam during bandh called by Left parties in protest. 

According to news agency IANS, Director General of Police M Malakondaiah has directed Superintendents of Police in all districts to take all measures to maintain law and order. The officials in districts have been asked to take precautionary measures to protect public property and also keep a tight vigil. The police chief said additional forces were deployed in sensitive areas. The TDP, an ally of BJP-led NDA, continued its protest in Parliament after the Union Budget was tabled in parliament on February 1. The party MPs raised slogans during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech on Wednesday, demanding justice for the state.

Earlier, TDP president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu asked his party MPs to continue their protest till a categorical announcement from the Centre. Though Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Ananth Kumar spoke to the Andhra Pradesh chief minister over phone, urging to advise his MPs to cooperate during the Prime Minister's speech, Naidu made it clear that the protest will continue, TDP sources said.

Actor-politician and founder of Jena Sena party Pawan Kalyan said the movement to get justice for Andhra Pradesh should be on the lines of the movement for separate Telangana state. He said there were many promises made for the Telangana which aren't fulfilled yet. Pawan recalled that at the time of the bifurcation, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced in Parliament that special category status will be accorded to Andhra Pradesh which he had hoped will be fulfilled after Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed the government at the Centre but it did not happen.  He added that his party (Jena Sena) would support shutdown if observed peacefully and without causing inconvenience to people.