THE call for statewide bandh given by the CPI(M), CPI, Congress and YSR Congress seeking special category status for Andhra Pradesh was peaceful across the state and evoked good response from the people. The bandh was observed in all the important cities and towns of the state. Several shops at various centres remained closed till evening as the traders too joined the bandh. Various marches were organised by the CPI(M) activists in different parts of the state. APSRTC had operated skeletal services in Vijayawada and the rural parts of the state till evening. The activists of the entire opposition parties squatted at the RTC bus stands in the morning preventing buses coming on to the roads. Chandrababu Naidu government made frantic efforts to foil the bandh by using police force. Though the police used force to lift the agitators and give way for the RTC buses, yet the buses remained off the roads till evening in most of the centres. The cloth market and the gold market at the state capital, Vijayawada remained closed till late in the evening in support of the bandh. The traders responded to the call given by the opposition parties and expressed solidarity. While most educational institutions told students that there would be no classes because of the bandh, other establishments remained closed or downed shutters in many places. P Madhu, CPI(M) state secretary, and other members of the secretariat led big marches and they were arrested and shifted to various police stations. Party Congratulated the people for expressing their concern and anguish at the policies of Modi-Babu governments. K Ramakrishna, CPI state secretary was also arrested and put in Vijayawada Police Station. The CPI, YSR Congress and Congress leaders took out a rally in the city in support of the bandh. However, the police arrested the leaders and cleared the cadre from the streets. TDP did not join the bandh, yet some of its legislators and cadres have gone to the press fuming against the attitude of the central government for betraying the people on granting special category status for ten years. The TDP government acted in a duplicitous manner trying to sabotage the strike on one hand and on the other, parroting that resentment of people of AP should be gauged by the Modi government at the centre. Earlier too there were agitations, bandhs and struggles by various parties and sections over denial of Special Status to AP, over denying funds for the development of backward regions, over not releasing adequate funds for Polavaram Project as mentioned in AP State Re-Organisation Act for the last one year. Chandrababu Naidu claimed to have met the prime minister and other central ministers on these issues for 30 times in the last 26 months. Whatever may be the exhortations of the TDP government in the state, it is crystal clear that the BJP government has paid a deaf ear to the representations of AP government. Notwithstanding the unwillingness of centre, proper lessons have not been learnt by the TDP government. It has been creating illusions and raising hopes of people all along that the centre will announce Special status along with Special Package. Despite the hype and hoopla over it, true to its authoritarian character, the Modi government chose to reject the Special Status to AP citing technical objections from the 14th Finance Commission and from Niti Ayog. It is obvious that the centre has relegated the issues of the state to the backburner. Chandrababu Naidu had never bothered to involve all the political parties in the state to buttress his government’s claims for Special Status and Special Package. He wanted to appropriate total credit for this. This lopsided strategy boomeranged on him leaving his party and government in quandary. The nonchalance of BJP-TDP governments on the genuine issues of the state has naturally caused severe heartburn amongst all sections of people. There was a short-duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha recently on whether the government was interested in implementing the AP Re-Organisation Act, as promised by the former prime minister Manmohan Singh. Finance minister Arun Jaitley in his inimitable style stated that the government would “handhold” Andhra Pradesh until it became economically stable. This semantics, devoid of substance, caused uproar not only in the parliament but also in the state of AP. Though Jaitley acknowledged that Andhra Pradesh lost revenue after Telangana was carved out of it in 2014, yet he conveniently ignored the constitutional responsibility of the centre to improve the economic condition of the state. This led to disappointment and dejection among the people of AP, who are hoping against hope that Modi government will deliver on its very important electoral promise to the people of AP. They are unable to digest the fact that this was also an election jhumla of Modi. The statement by Jaitley sparked anger among the people which was reflected in the bandh. Sensing the ire of the people of AP, once again Jaitley had to announce in parliament that suitable measures will be undertaken to address the issues in AP. This statement is nothing but a ruse to placate the people of AP who are seething in anger against the Modi government. It is for sure that mere platitudes can no longer hoodwink the people at all the times. There will be heightened activities and struggles in AP if the Modi government continues to shirk its constitutional duty to implement the tenets of AP Reorganisation Act in the days to come. People’s patience is running out and they will give a fitting reply to the political machinations of Modi government supported by the TDP government, at the appropriate time.