Banswada poll result 'is a verdict for Telangana'
Reddy defeats Congress candidate by more than 50,000 votes in by-election in region rocked by strikes and protests
Hyderabad: Reflecting the general mood of the masses in Telangana region of the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh in support of a separate state for the region, the people of Banswada assembly constituency have overwhelmingly voted for the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) candidate Pocharam Srinivas Reddy.
He defeated the Congress candidate Srinivas Goud by more than 50,000 votes.
The by-election was caused by the resignation of Srinivas Reddy who was elected on the Telugu Desam Party ticket in 2009 but quit the party and the assembly seat in support of Telangana state and joined the TRS.
"The fight was between the Telangana forces and Telangana traitors. The people of Telangana have won," said Srinivas Reddy. The people of Banswada gave the verdict in support of Telangana state on a day when the 35-day-long indefinite strike in the region appeared to be losing some of the momentum.
Work without pay
Following the employees of the Road Transport Corporation, the teachers have also decided to return to work albeit without pay.
The joint action committee of the private schools has also decided to reopen schools from today and the union leaders of the Singareni Collieries workers were also getting ready for talks with the state government. Yesterday, the government had sent invitations for talks to the leaders of the Telangana Teachers Joint Action Committee (TEJAC).
Meanwhile, the High Court lawyers and judicial department employees' joint action committee joined the strike from yesterday. The police arrested a large number of lawyers when they held a protest in the high court premises.
Similarly, the Telangana employees' joint action committee has rejected the call of the ministers to end the strike. "We are fighting for the aspirations of the people of the region for a separate state because the political leaders have failed to do so. If the ministers of Telangana assure us that they will achieve Telangana, we will return to work," said TEJAC leader Srinivas Goud.
