Andhra Bandh today: Visakhapatnam most affected as Left parties call for shutdown

The Left Parties have called for a bandh in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday against the budgetary allocations received by the state in the recent Union Budget 2018 and also appealed to the leaders of non-political joint action committee (JAC) to participate in large numbers and make the bandh a grand success.

Earlier in the day, more than 1300 APS RTC buses were stopped in Visakhapatnam during Andhra Pradesh bandh, ANI reported.

The YSRCP has also extended its support to the bandh. Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan has also agreed to lend his support. Kalyan also said that they would meet on February 11 to chalk out action plan for special category status issue.

Farmer associations and trade unions in north Andhra and Rayalaseema have also agreed to support the bandh.

The state had demanded a railway zone in Visakhapatnam, the release of funds for building the state's new capital Amaravati, funds for the Kadapa steel plant, and a railway division for the stretch between Vijayawada and Guntakal.

However, snubbing all the demands put forth by the state, the Centre allocated Rs 108 crore for the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, Rs 32 crore for the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (or petroleum university), Rs 10 crore for a Central University, Rs 10 crore for a Tribal University, Rs 54 Cr for NIT, Rs 50 Cr for IIT Tirupati and a few other minor educational allocations.

The disappointment over the budget forced the TDP to call a parliamentary party meeting on Sunday to decide whether it should snap ties with its ally the BJP. However, following a promise by Home Minister Rajnath Singh to look into Andhra's issues, the TDP agreed to stay in the alliance. The TDP, however, decided to mount pressure on the Centre in parliament.

OneIndia News