AP split will trigger violence, Kiran Kumar Reddy tells GoM

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy questioned the Group of Ministers on who will take responsibility for the troubles arising after bifurcation. 

“If you take a decision (recommending bifurcation), if there are more problems after that, who will be responsible,” the Chief Minister asked.

He said whether the Telangana Bill is referred to the Assembly for its views or not, the House will need to meet before December 20. The House will then di-scuss birfurcation issues threadbare.

“I will also speak in the Assembly and say the same thing that I am telling you now,” he said.

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Reddy said that Hyderabad is calm, but faces the threat of communal clashes and terrorist attacks if the state is divided. If there is one government with all the forces at its command, it can tackle the issues effectively.

He said there were similar apprehensions regarding power, irrigation, emp-loyment and education. Due to the existing zonal system for recruitment of government employees this community will face no problems, but there will be a spate of petitions if the state is divided, he cautioned.

He said that top naxal leaders were from AP, and that a majority were from Telangana. There is a threat of greater Naxal violence if the state is divided, Reddy said. Hyderabad has been the centre of terror activities since 1992.

There is a possibility of communal clashes. There are chances of escalation of law and order related is-sues in Hyderabad which the (Telangana) government cannot handle, he said.

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He said that 90 per cent of IT companies in the state are located in Hyderabad, along with pharma and related industries. There is a chance that people from Seemandhra region could lose employment if the state is divided. He said these issues were not a factor during the 1969 and 1972 agitations.

On the irrigation sector, Reddy told the GoM that it would not be possible for tribunals and joint control boards to monitor the allocations and distribution of waters among the two states; as the exp-eriment had not worked anywhere in the country.

He also quoted Justice Srikrishna committee findings that every year 10.6 per cent of the state population migrates to Hydera-bad for jobs, trade and education. If the state is divided, it would be difficult to address their problems.

Next: CM for Telangana-package

CM for Telangana-package

DC/Ch V.M. Krishna Rao

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy on Monday told the Group of Ministers (GoM) that giving a special package for Telangana would be preferable to dividing the state. Bifurcating the state would not solve anything, he said. It would only worsen the problems, which the Centre may find difficult to address.

Reddy presented his views to the GoM at North Block for more than 90 minutes, and briefed the media for about the same duration on his presentation. He said that the GoM had appreciated his effort at preparing two detailed notes on the issue, and asked him for some clarifications.

“I reminded them of what the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi told Parliament in December 1972 in the backdrop of the two statehood agitations — ‘by dividing the state, the existing problems will be compounded. In solving one problem, we should not create more problems’,” he said.

“The division of the state will be a historical blunder, both states will suffer for long. It is best not to divide the state,” the Chief Minister told the GoM.

He said bifurcation would escalate Naxalism, terrorism and communalism. These can be tackled effectively if there is one administration.