Opposition parties on Tuesday conducted a state-wide bandh demanding special category status for Andhra Pradesh, in continuation of their protests in the Parliament on the same issue.
The bandh was called by main opposition YSR Congress and joined by Congress and the Left parties.
The impact of bandh was felt in cities like Guntur and other places where the buses were blocked and schools and establishments remained closed for the day, according to reports.
Police have taken leaders of YSR Congress and other parties into custody in several places as they were trying to block the roads and staged protests in public places against what the opposition parties termed grave injustice being meted out to the state.
The fresh trigger for the two-year old demand came when a Congress member from AP issued notice for discussion on his Private Member Bill in Rajya Sabha seeking the special status for AP a week ago. Congress Party, which was wiped out in AP in the last general elections has been trying hard to regain public support on the back of this and other issues.
The members from the ruling Telugu Desam Party too backed the protest of the Congress members in Parliament during the discussion on the subject in the Parliament. However the YSR Congress later took away the initiative questioning the continued alliance of TDP with NDA Government despite the Union Ministers ruling out the possibility of special status for the state.
