TRS calls for Telangana bandh on Saturday

Alleging that the Andhra Pradesh government resorted to repressive measures to put down the Telangana agitation on Friday, Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao has called for a bandh in the Telangana region on Saturday.

Communist Party of India, a strong supporter of the separate Telangana stir, however, differed with TRS in calling for bandh, saying the decision was unilateral.

The Telangana Joint Action Committee, which comprises TRS, BJP and organisations like pro-Telangana employees of Andhra Pradesh government, has said the bandh would be observed in the entire Telangana region.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Union Minister and AICC General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad, in-charge of Congress affairs in AP, congratulated Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and the state government for the smooth maintenance of law and order today, official sources said.

They appreciated the restraint shown by the administration in handling law and order even when some parties were planning to create disturbance, the sources said.

The chief minister thanked them for extending support and providing central forces to maintain law and order, the sources added.