Renuka supports Rajashekhar Reddy on Khammam incident

New Delhi, July 31 (UNI) Union Minister Renuka Chowdhury today came out in support of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajashekhara Reddy, who is facing flak from both the Left parties and the opposition BJP on the issue of police firing in Khammam on July 28 that killed six people, saying he alone could not be held responsible for the violence.

''If an issue has created instability, then it is the collective responsibility and the Chief Minister alone cannot be held responsible,'' Ms Chowdhury, who hails from Khammam, told reporters when asked about her reaction to the incident.

She said a new trend of demanding resignation has developed, and it should not be encouraged.

When informed that not only the opposition BJP but even the Left allies of the UPA government have demanded the resignation of the Chief Minister for mishandling of the situation, Ms Chowdhury said the Left parties must not have meant what the media is trying to project.

The Women and Child Development Minister said everyone should meet and discuss to find a solution to the situation and not aggravate it by charging each other.

In Mudigonda village, six people were killed in police firing on July 28 during a dharna demanding land and house sites for the poor.

The Left parties in a stern warning have asked the Congress leadership to ''rein in'' the state government which they alleged was ''resorting to politics of bullets to thwart the poor man's struggle for land''.

While the CPI(M) Polit Bureau sought the Centre's immediate intervetion to solve the crisis, the CPI urged the state government to set up a Land Commission as recommended by a State Committee. It has also demanded a judicial probe into the incident.

The Congress had, however, rejected the demand for the resignation of the Chief Minister and said ''the sensitive and prompt response of the administration belies any allegation of high-handedness.'' UNI