Hyderabad: President Pranab Mukherjee was kept busy on Day 3 of his southern sojourn here on Sunday by a series of meetings with Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and several political delegations.
The CM briefed Mukherjee for about 30 minutes at Rashtrapati Nilayam in Bolaram on why he thought the state must not be divided.
He said that bifurcation was not possible without amending Article 371-D of the Constitution, which gives special status to locals in education and jobs. Besides, he said, there is no provision in the Constitution for a ‘common capital’.
According to sources, Reddy gave a report on the pros and cons for both regions if the state was divided. He said that the Telangana Bill had many lapses, and lacked information on crucial aspects: It did not have the financial memorandum and did not contain the objectives and reasons.
TRS and BJP delegations claimed that Mukherjee had assured them that the deadline for the Assembly to express its views on the Bill would not be extended beyond January 23.
TRS MPs G. Vivek, Manda Jaganatham and former minister G. Vinod said that they had asked the President to ensure there were no delays in the formation of Telangana.
BJP leaders, led by its state president G. Kishan Reddy and party leaders Ch Vidyasagar Rao, Bandaru Dattatreya and Nagam Janardhan Reddy, said that they had complained to the President that the CM was trying to stall the state’s division.
An 18-member delegation of Seemandhra TD MLAs submitted a six-page report against the state’s bifurcation to Mukherjee. They also highlighted lapses in the Telangana Bill.
