Telugu Desham chief N. Chandrababu Naidu broke his fast on Friday, a day after he was administered intravenous feed in view of his deteriorating health.
Mr Naidu was persuaded to break his fast by 10 national Opposition parties, which announced they would launch a nationwide agitation for remunerative prices to farmers and adequate compensation for the crop loss due to natural calamities across the country, including Andhra Pradesh.
The Opposition parties also announced that they would organise a rally in Guntur on December 30 to highlight the farmers issue, where they would announce their future course of action. Mr Naidu later released a four-page open letter to farmers saying he would fight for them till their problems were solved.
Though Mr Naidu was forcibly administered IV fluids by doctors on Thursday, he had refused to take food and continued his protest. Finally, Mr Naidu gave up his deeksha by accepting coconut water.
The TDP chief gave up fast without any firm assurance from the government on his 20-point charter of demands, except for chief minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy offering to take an all-party delegation to New Delhi. “We have come down all the way from New Delhi for the sake of Mr Naidu, who is on fast since December 17. He is a diabetic patient and we thought he has been suffering a lot for eight days. It is now the job of all parties to take up the struggle,” Mr A.B. Bardhan, CPI general secretary.
“We had to persuade him to give up the fast and he agreed to it since we thought that eight days of his suffering has brought the spotlight to his cause. We gave him coconut water. We wish Mr Naidu regains his health. The government will be made to listen. His job is over and it is now the job of all parties to take the struggle forward,” Mr Bardhan said at Nims.