Contrary to the alarmist media reports, the UPA government today said that there was no plan to impose President's rule in Andhra Pradesh.
"As of now, we are not thinking about imposing President's rule," the Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said.
Earlier, the media reports suggested the possibility of AP being brought under central rule in view of the worsening law and order situation in Seemandhra and power crisis.
Shinde has met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and briefed him about the situation in AP in the wake of the ongoing agitation against bifurcation of the state and how this was affecting the normal life.
"Power situation is the only cause of concern. However, the Chief Minister is trying to resolve the problem and restore normalcy," the Home Minister said amid growing fears of a possible collapse of southern power grid if the situation continues for a couple of days more.
The 30,000 odd employees of the power utilities are on strike for the last three days, resulting in a crippling crisis. The power generation in several major units has come to a grinding halt while train services have also been disrupted due to power supply shortages.
The street protests also continued in Seemandhra districts and there was no let up in the tension in Vizianagaram, the home town of the PCC Chief Botsa Satyanarayana whose properties are the targets of mob attack.
Given the allegations that the Kiran Kumar Reddy government was deliberately not taking any action to bring the situation under control, there is speculation in the media that the Centre might invoke article 356 and impose President's rule in the restore to restore normalcy.
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