Senior TRS MLA and Rao's nephew T Harish Rao said party leaders and family members too urged the party president to break the fast but he refused.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K Chandrasekhar Rao's today ignored doctors' appeal for giving up his indefinite fast as his health deteriorated and simmering tensions put the Congress in a bind over the separate Telangana demand.
The Andhra Pradesh assembly saw uproar following TRS members' disruption of the House over the issue after the government failed to come up with a resolution for separate Telangana.
As an insistent TRS chief refused to budge to the appeal of doctors to call off his protest, chief minister K Rosaiah is leaving for New Delhi tomorrow for consultations with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the sensitive issue which has divided the party on regional lines in the state.
"The team of doctors, after careful examination of Rao's health, felt that he should break his fast immediately. Otherwise, it might lead to serious complications," K Prasada Rao, director of Nizam's Insitute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), told reporters.
Senior TRS MLA and Rao's nephew T Harish Rao said party leaders and family members too urged the party president to break the fast but he refused.
He has refused to take medicines, which further complicated the situation as he has not taken solids for over a week now, TRS senior leader Nayini Narasimha Reddy said. “Till yesterday, we were saying that his health is stable. But, without intake of any solid diet even the medication will have no impact and it will only worsen his condition further. Hence, he has to call off his fast at once,” NIMS director D Prasada Rao said, quoting the report of doctors attending Rao.
Protests continued across Telangana region while the TRS MLAs forced adjournment of the state assembly without transacting any business today.
The TRS demanded that the Congress MLAs, including ministers, from the region should quit their posts so as to compel their party high command to concede to their demand for carving out a separate state.
The assembly witnessed exchange of slogans between the TRS MLAs and Congress MLAs hailing from Rayalaseema region. While the TRS legislators raised the “Jai Telangana” cry, the Rayalaseema Congress MLAs raised the “Jai Andhra Pradesh” slogans forcing speaker N Kiran Kumar Reddy to adjourn the proceedings for the day.
Outside the assembly, the BJP held a dharna demanding that the government immediately table a resolution in the House seeking creation of Telangana. Activists of TRS laid siege to health minister Danam Nagender’s house in the city protesting his demand for Union Territory status to Hyderabad.
Danam, however, warned the protesters that he would not tolerate such acts and would retaliate if needed.
“You have a right to raise the demand for Telangana but we too have a right to voice our views. Moreover, our stand on Hyderabad is nothing new,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, police sources said nine more companies of CRPF’s Rapid Action Force has arrived in Hyderabad for maintaining law and order.
With the Telangana Students’ Joint Action Committee giving a call for laying siege to the Assembly on December 10, the police have requisitioned extra force to thwart any breakdown in law and order.
A police spokesperson told PTI that about 15 buses were damaged by protesters in different districts while 20 persons were arrested for this. Activists staged a rail-roko at Moula-Ali railway station here while road blockades were reported from
Karimnagar and other places. Protesters took out a rally in LB Nagar in Hyderabad too and later blocked traffic on the busy National Highway-9.
In New Delhi, Congress leaders in charge of Andhra Pradesh met with MPs, specially those from Telangana region, and discussed the volatile situation.
PCC president D Srinivas said some members of the Congress are in support of the separate Telangana but he would abide by the high command's decision. AICC spokesperson Shakeel Ahmad said "Congress' stand is very clear. The party is in favour of Telangana state but we want it to happen through consensus."
He expressed the hope that a consensual agreement will soon be achieved over the issue.
At the same time he attacked BJP leader Sushma Swaraj for her statement in Lok Sabha yesterday that her party was in favour of a separate Telangana, but could not do anything about it due to the opposition of TDP, which was then supporting the BJP government.
"This is very objectionable that you support or oppose Telangana's creation due to political considerations. Nobody should change stand on a state's creation for political considerations," he said.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi had last night held consultations with senior party leaders — finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, home minister P Chidambaram, defence minister AK Antony and AICC in-charge for Andhra Pradesh M Veerappa Moily over the issue.
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