CM advises Centre against dividing AP in haste

Hyderabad, Feb 2 : Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Sunday reiterated his strong opposition to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

Addressing a press conference at his camp office, the Chief Minister said that the Telugu people should be given liberty to decide whether or not the State should be divided. He said that the Centre should not act in haste to bifurcate the State. He claimed that the State Legislative Assembly had rejected the draft Telangana Bill through an unopposed resolution with voice vote. He hoped that President of India Pranab Mukherjee would take legal and constitutional opinion before giving his nod to the Bill.

Kiran Kumar Reddy described the resolution against the Bill as “Brahmastram” and said that the same would exert pressure on the Centre to defer its decision on dividing the State. He reiterated that the decision to create Telangana was aimed at gaining political mileage and the process adopted for Telangana formation was violative of Constitution. He said that no State in the country was ever formed without the concerned Assembly passing a resolution.

Stating that the Centre should not act in haste, he said that all the concerns raised by the people of Seemandhra region should be addressed before bifurcating the State. He said that the general elections were due to be held in the next two-three months and therefore, the Centre should not be in a hurry to implement its decision. He also appealed the TDP, YSRCP and other pro-united AP groups to unitedly exert pressure on the Centre to keep the State united.

The Chief Minister also ridiculed TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu for reportedly complaining that he was not given an opportunity to speak on the Bill in the Assembly. INN