Eleven days after he began an indefinite fast, TDP MP CM Ramesh broke his hunger strike on Saturday in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu in Kadapa.
Ramesh and MLC from Kadapa district, Ravi, went on the fast to back the ongoing demand by the state to set up a steel plant in the district.
While Ravi's health deteriorated and he was shifted to a hospital a few days ago, Ramesh continued his fast.
Naidu met Ramesh and offered him lemon juice in the presence of the latter's family. Naidu's son and Andhra Minister Nara Lokesh was also present at the venue.
Addressing the gathering before Ramesh broke his fast, Naidu said that both leaders kept their lives on the line for a steel factory in the district so that the youth will get employment opportunities.
Naidu also said that if the Centre took an initiative, the state government was willing to invest 50% in the project.
"We will not stop our fight and the state will demand what is rightly ours," Naidu said.
Doctors at the protest site who checked on his health on Friday, advised him against continuing the fast and said that his kidney and liver could get damaged. They also suggested that he must be admitted to the hospital for treatment or he could become unconscious.
The district witnessed a total shutdown on Friday as protests and demonstrations were staged at several places, even as offices and educational institutes from schools to colleges remained closed.
All private and public buses operated by the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) also stayed off the roads.
The call for a shutdown was backed by all parties in the state except the BJP. This included the TDP, YSRCP and the Left parties. Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan also lent support to the bandh.
DMK MP Kanimozhi from neighbouring Tamil Nadu had also met Ramesh earlier this week and extended her support to the protesting Parliamentarian.
"If the Centre stood by its word, they should have granted Special Category Status and supported the economy of the state. Not one promise that the Prime Minister made to the entire nation has been fulfilled," she said.
"The Chief Minister of the state trusted him and supported him, but the Prime Minister showed the true colours of the BJP and let you down. The Centre takes away our taxes and our rights from the states and they're growing in power, but nothing is given back to us. The BJP has only one dream; Hindi, Hindu and Hindustan and nothing else," she added.
The Centre recently withdrew its decision to establish the steel plant claiming that the project was financially unviable. The TDP and other parties in Andhra Pradesh have decided to protest against this statement by the Centre.
TDP had pulled out from BJP led NDA alliance in March this year alleging that the Centre had not fulfilled promises made during bifurcation.