'You remember the statues, but not Telangana suicides'

While some of them have condemned the incidents like the destruction of the 17 statues of coastal Andhra leaders on Tank Bund and attacks on the mediapersons and some elected representatives, others refused to be apologetic.

Telangana Joint Action Committee convenor Prof Kodanda Ram has alleged that the destruction of the statues was handiwork of policemen in plainclothes to discredit the Telangana movement.

He said if the leader of the movement were not arrested and they were present on the Tank Bund at the time of the incidents, such incidents could have been averted.

Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K Chandrasekhar Rao, who also faced the wrath of the people of Tank Bund, condemned the violence. But his son and TRS legislator Taraka Rama Rao said that destruction of the statues was a minor incident compared to the suicide by 600 youth and students of Telangana for separate state.

On the incident of attack on the media representatives and destruction of cameras, he said that a section of the media had provoked the people of Telangana by biased reporting and by distorting the facts.

Telangana Employees Joint Action Committee has demanded that in place of the demolished statues of Andhra leaders, statues of the Telangana students, who committed suicide should be installed.

It also demanded that the statues of Telangana historical figures like Kumram Bheem should also be installed there.

It bitterly criticised Telugu Desam Party President N Chandrababu Naidu and Praja Rajyam president Chiranjeevi saying they were now mourning the demolition of the statues but remained silent when 600 Telangana youth ended their lives demanding Telangana state.

Chalasani Prasad of Revolutionary Writers' Association demanded the government should immediately initiate the action for the formation of Telangana state.

On the issue of the attack on media, which has left the fourth state angry, an important leader of Telangana movement, balladeer Ghaddar has tendered an unconditional apology and said that every body should work together to realise the dream of Telangana state.