AP CM persuades Sonia from visiting AP

Hyderabad, Aug 27 (UNI) Stating that UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi had wanted to visit Hyderabad, struck by twin bomb blasts on Saturday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today said he had persuaded her not to come to deny ''publicity'' to the terrorists.

''The world should know less about such incidents in Andhra Pradesh, which is rapidly developing on all fronts,'' he said while addressing an all-party peace meeting.

After making wide consultations with intellectuals, he had asked Ms Gandhi not to visit Hyderabad as the incident would get ample coverage and terrorists would get more publicity.

Only when there were any communal tensions, there was a need for the party supremo to visit the place of occurrence to bring about rapproachment among the communities involved, Dr Reddy pointed out.

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil had regretted that a week after he patted the Andhra Pradesh Government for maintaining law and order, effectively the incident had happened.

Similarly, after Mr Patil had observed that the situation was improving in the terrorist-affected Jammu and Kashmir, the ultras had struck to assert their presence, the Chief Minister said.

UNI