Assembly call to end factional violence

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, MARCH 31. In a rare display of unity, the A.P. Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution roundly condemning factional violence and calling upon all political parties and leaders to strive for creating an environment of peace and harmony in Rayalaseema.

The resolution, moved by the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Saturday, called upon the members to vow that they would dissociate themselves from factions and faction leaders.

Mr. Naidu agreed to the constitution of a House Committee to recommend stern measures to end factional violence, a scourge in 20 to 30 Assembly constituencies in Rayalaseema region and lately in the Palnad area of Guntur district, which has taken a heavy toll of lives during this month.

He further offered to constitute a special investigation team to nab the followers of P. Venkatappa Naidu, a TDP leader of Kapatralla village in Devanakonda mandal in Kurnool district, who killed six members of a rival faction in a gruesome manner on Friday morning following an alleged bomb attack on him.

The Chief Minister also conceded the plea of the Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, to bolster the security for Mr. K. Surya Pratap Reddy, Congress member from the notoriously factious Dharmavaram constituency in Anantapur district, and provide gunmen for his brother as their lives were under threat.

Earlier, an adjournment motion on the Kapatralla multiple murders tabled by the Congress was disallowed by the Speaker, Mrs. K. Pratibha Bharathi, because the Home Minister, Mr. T. Devender Goud, was scheduled to make a statement on the attack.

Earlier, in a spirited reply, the Home Minister rejected the opposition leader's proposal that he send a strong signal about the Government's determination to combat factionalism by offering to resign if there were any more mass killings as Mr. V. P. Singh did in mid-eighties after a spate of dacoities in Uttar Pradesh.

Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy, who initiated the debate, charged the police with taking sides while investigating factional murders in Rayalaseema.

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Section  : Southern States
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