Telangana MPs end fast as government withdraws cases

By Indo Asian News Service | IANS India Private Limited – Tue, Dec 28 5:46 PM IST

Hyderabad, Dec 28 (IANS) Congress MPs from the Telangana region Tuesday ended their hunger strike after the Andhra Pradesh government agreed to withdraw all criminal cases filed during widespread agitation for a separate Telangana state.

The nine Congress parliamentarians broke their fast after state Home Minister P. Sabita Indra Reddy handed over a written assurance from the government to senior leader and Rajya Sabha member K. Keshava Rao about withdrawal of the cases.

Keshava Rao told reporters that following the government's decision, they were terminating their hunger-strike.

The home minister said the government has decided to withdraw all the remaining cases against the agitators, most of whom were students, keeping in view their future.

She said all 1,667 cases against 8,047 people would be withdrawn. The cases were booked during the protests for and against a separate Telangana state in all three regions of the state between November 2009 and September 2010.