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Chiranjeevi Rockz again

Tension escalated as scores of students rushed to the campus on hearing about the self-immolation of K. Venugopal Reddy, a final year student of MCA in Lalita PG College at Ghatkesar, near the Tagore auditorium. Morning walkers noticed the body and alerted the authorities. Police found a handwritten suicide note purportedly written by Venugopal Reddy expressing his anguish over the delay in forming the State.

As news broke out, students across the 10 Telangana districts boycotted classes, examinations and university authorities had to postpone semester exams of all post-graduate courses slated to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday. Agitated students prevented the police from shifting the body for an autopsy and the charged up atmosphere forced even senior officers to withdraw themselves from the auditorium.

A host of political leaders and Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) convenor Kodandaram, were mobbed and buttonholed by students, when they rushed to the site. The agitators argued with them insisting that they immediately quit their posts. Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao, after attending an emergency meeting of Telangana JAC, too arrived. He attributed the rising tendency among people to commit suicide to contradictory statements being made by the Congress leaders at the State and Central level.

Venugopal Reddy was living with his brother, Srinivas Reddy, a research scholar in the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT). On Monday evening, he told his brother that he was going to the campus and did not respond to calls made in the night.

Mahabubnagar Correspondent writes: Suvarnamma, a first year B.Sc student of Government Degree College, committed suicide in her native village of Mirasipalli in Kothakota mandal, leaving a note saying she was taking her life because she was afraid that separate Telangana would not be a reality.

According to the police, she was alone in her house and at about 8 p.m. doused herself with kerosene and set herself ablaze. Police found a letter that she had addressed to her brother Manyam, a government teacher, explaining why she was taking the extreme step.

Courtesy: http://www.hindu.com/

Chiranjeevi said he was taking moral responsibility for his words during the state assembly elections. On December 7, he had rallied for a separate statehood for Telangana. Now, he has changed his stance, keeping in mind the public outcry against this decision.

Chiranjeevi, who held consultations with senior party leaders throughout the day, was understood to have come under pressure from them that the party reverse its pro-Telangana stand and extend full support to the unified state movement.

The two PRP MLAs hailing from Telangana region, however, opposed a change in the party’s stand and wanted it to stick to the Samajika (social) Telangana promise.

Senior PRP leaders tried to exert pressure on Chiranjeevi to resign as MLA and support the ongoing movement for a unified Andhra Pradesh. He hails from West Godavari in coastal Andhra and represents Tirupati assembly constituency in Rayalaseema.

15 PRP MLAs from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions have already submitted resignations and are taking part in the ongoing agitation against the proposed bifurcation of the state.

Ever since the launch of PRP in August 2008, Chiranjeevi has always supported Telangana and even included it in the party’s election manifesto this year.

Chiranjeevi maintained there would not be any change in PRP’s stand on the separate statehood issue after the political imbroglio following the Centre’s announcement on initiating the process for creation of Telangana state.

But with mounting pressure from his party cadre, which is predominantly from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, Chiranjeevi is said to be left with no other choice but to toe their line, the sources pointed out.

PRP Leaders from different districts of Telangana reached the party headquarters here and met Chiranjeevi to express their displeasure about the party’s stand on Telangana issue.

PRP’s MLA from Telangana region A Maheswar Reddy too joined the meeting and sought a clarification from Chiranjeevi on reports that he was now favouring a unified state against the party’s line for a Telangana.

PRP’s official spokesman Shravan Kumar said at the end of the meeting that there was immense pressure on Chiranjeevi to support a unified state.