Naidu continues fast in hospital

HYDERABAD - Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu Tuesday continued his indefinite fast in a hospital here even as doctors have warned that his condition may further deteriorate.

The fast, demanding a relief package for farmers affected by recent rains, entered fifth day Tuesday.

The leader of opposition, who was arrested from the hunger strike camp at New MLA Quarters early Monday and shifted to Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), has refused to end the fast till the government accepts his demands.

However, there were no indications from the state government that it would offer more than what it already announced in the state assembly last week.

Naidu’s personal physician B. Somaraju Tuesday examined him. He told reporters outside NIMS that his condition had deteriorated as he was neither taking fluids nor undergoing treatment.

He said the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief’s condition may further deteriorate if he continued his fast.

The leader is demanding that the government declare the crop loss in recent rains a national calamity, pay a compensation of Rs.10,000 per acre for food crop and Rs.15,000 for commercial crop damaged in the rains.

Terming the package announced by the government as meagre, the TDP chief Friday launched the indefinite fast.

For the second consecutive day, the TDP has called for protests across the state against Naidu’s arrest.

A delegation of party leaders will visit Delhi Tuesday to meet union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to brief them about Naidu’s condition and his demands to solve farmers’ problems.

TDP legislator E. Dayakar Rao told reporters that the party would intensify its protest if the government failed to respond positively to their demands. “With the support of other opposition parties we will bring the administration to a standstill,” he said.