A bandh called by the Opposition political parties in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh on Friday to demand that the Union Government set up a steel factory in the district, as promised in the AP Re-organisation Act, 2014, has passed off peacefully.
The Telugu Desam member of Parliament, C. M. Ramesh, continued his indefinite hunger strike in the district for the tenth day and announced that he would even give up his life for the cause, unless the Centre honoured its promise.
There were protest demonstrations at several towns in the state, against the Centre and in support of the fasting MP. State HRD Minister, G. Srinivasa Rao, said here the Telugu Desam Member of Parliament’s fast, staking his life for the steel factory, was being ridiculed by some BJP leaders as "donga deeksha" (a fake protest) and it exposed their callousness and indifference to the welfare of the people of the state. The war of words between the Telugu Desam and BJP leaders intensified on Friday over the MP's fast.