Naidu's fast enters third day, Centre rules out rethink on bifurcating Andhra Pradesh

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu's indefinite hunger strike against the creation of a separate Telangana state entered the third day on Wednesday even as the Central Government ruled out any rethink on bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.

Naidu, who has been demanding talks with the leaders of all regions of the state to find an amicable solution to the current turmoil, has said that he will continue his agitation till justice is achieved.

Naidu had earlier accused the Congress of playing a treacherous game with its nod for the creation of a separate Telangana state, and said the ruling party at the Centre rather than providing justice to all is indulging in such acts for political gain.

"Generally, in this type of issue, nobody expects any political game. Here Sonia Gandhi and also the Congress Party want to take political gain out of it because of that they played all these games. If you go through in Andhra Pradesh today, there is no power, there is no water, there is no transportation; people are suffering like anything," said Naidu.

"What I am asking the Congress Party? Is it not your responsibility to do justice for everybody?" he asked.

Naidu also alleged 'political match-fixing' between the YSR Congress Party and the Congress Party.

The Central Government's decision to create a separate Telangana state has crippled normal across Andhra Pradesh.

Thousands of villages and towns remained cut off from power supply due to electricity employees' strike protesting bifurcation of the state.

Meanwhile, employees of the power sector in Andhra Pradesh's Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions) will continue with their indefinite strike on Wednesday as talks between Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and leaders of electricity employees' Joint Action Committee (JAC) failed on Tuesday night.

About 30,000 employees of power utilities in Seemandhra's 13 districts stayed away from work, almost paralysing generation and transmission.

The strike has plunged several towns and hundreds of villages in darkness. Production in hundreds of industries also has come to a grinding halt.

The Central Government has ruled out any rethink on bifurcating Andhra Pradesh. Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has ruled out the possibility of imposing President's rule in Andhra Pradesh.

The Centre has re-organised the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Telangana. The number of members has been reduced from ten to seven.

Union Ministers A.K. Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Veerappa Moily and Jairam Ramesh are the new members of the GoM. Other members of the panel are Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Minister of State for Personnel and Prime Minister's Office (PMO) V. Narayanasamy.

On October 3, the Union Cabinet had decided to go ahead with the process for the creation of a separate Telangana state carved out from Andhra Pradesh.