TDP president Chandrababu Naidu's health stable

TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu's health condition remained stable this morning as doctors at a hospital continued to administer intravenous fluids to the fasting leader.

Naidu is on an indefinite hunger-strike for the eighth day today to demand better compensation for farmers whose crops have been damaged in the recent rains in the state.

Sources in the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences said Naidu's blood pressure and pulse rate, which had become a cause for concern last evening forcing doctors to forcibly administer IV fluids to him, was normal this morning.

"We are still administering IV fluids but he is still refusing to take any liquid diet," a senior doctor attending on the leader of the opposition, said.

In a related development, TDP and Left workers tried to storm the state Secretariat this morning demanding immediate justice to farmers. They came in a rally from the assembly to lay siege to the Secretariat.

But police blocked the TDP MPs, MLAs and senior leaders midway at Ravindra Bharati and took them into custody. This led to heated argument between the leaders and police.

TDP MP Nandamuri Harikrishna, senior MLAs M Narasimhulu, Nagam Janardhana Reddy, former Union minister K Yerran Naidu and others were among the scores of protestors taken into custody.

They were then shifted to Goshamahal stadium.

MLAs Payyavula Keshav, Amarnath Reddy, MP M Venugopal Reddy and senior MLA Errabilli Dayakar Rao, however, reached the Secretariat with another large group of protestors but police locked all the entrance gates.

Keshav argued with the police and asked them how they could block the legislators from entering the Secretariat. But the police did not heed, forcing the TDP leaders to squat on the road.

Later, MP Venugopal Reddy and MLA Dayakar Rao made their way to the C block, which houses the chief minister’s office, and staged a sit-in demanding that the chief minister immediately step down as he failed to redress the farmers' grievances.

They raised slogans against the government and were subsequently arrested.

Meanwhile, the TDP and the Left leaders, who met at the NTR Bhavan decided to organise a massive farmers' conference in Guntur on December 26. They have decided to step up the agitation till the government conceded their demands and rescued the distressed farmers.

CPI(M) national general secretary Prakash Karat, CPI general secretary AB Bardhan, Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav and Rashtriya Lok Dal president Ajit Singh will call on Naidu later in the evening, TDP sources said.