Police arrest fasting M.Rajagopal, shift him to hospital

Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), Dec.19 (ANI): Congress leader and Member of Parliament M Rajagopal was arrested in Vijayawada and admitted to a hospital on Saturday after his condition started deteriorating.

He was observing indefinite fast against the proposed division of the State of Andhra Pradesh to carve out a separate State as Telangana.

Tension prevailed in the coastal city as Rajagopal continued his fast in the hospital while his supporters staged road blockades and sat on protest.

"Police behaviour of arresting MP is very bad. Police are provoking the Andhra people. We demand the government to arrest the KCR (K Chandrasekhara Rao, pro-Telangana leader). We called 48 hours shutdown against the police action." said Devineni Rajshekar, Congress leader and former minister.

Previously, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K Chandrasekhara Rao went on 'fast unto death' for formation of a separate state of Telangana by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.

After the 11-day fast by Rao, the Central government on December 9 agreed to initiate the process for the formation of a separate Telangana state. However, the move has met with high resistance by people who want an undivided Andhra Pradesh. (ANI)