Andhra govt to withdraw 135 more cases against Telangana protestors

The Andhra Pradesh government today agreed to withdraw 135 cases against 834 persons involved in different agitations on the statehood issue.

This is in addition to the 565 cases already being withdrawn against 2,437 accused, according to state textile minister P Shankar Rao.

The government took the decision to withdraw more cases today following a meeting held by chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy with five of his cabinet colleagues from Telangana, including home minister P Sabita Indra Reddy, even as the Congress MPs, MLCs and MLAs launched a hunger strike seeking unconditional withdrawal of all cases filed against students and other protesters.

In all, 1,667 cases were registered against more than 8,400 persons in connection with the statehood agitation in all the three regions of the state between December 2009 and September 2010.

The state government announced in the state assembly during the recent winter session that 565 cases that were non-serious like staging rasta rokos, violating prohibitory orders disfiguring statues were being withdrawn. While those serious in nature like burning of public and private properties were being reviewed.

However, political parties like Congress, TDP, TRS have demanded that all cases be withdrawn unconditionally, but the government turned down the demand.

But the Congress MPs and legislators forced climb down from its stand and withdraw some more cases. Formal order related to withdrawal of cases will be issued soon, official sources said.