Why AP was not named 'Telugu Nadu', asks TD MLA

Hyderabad: Telugu Desam Party MLA Revanth Reddy on Saturday condemned the Seemandhra leaders for staking claim on Hyderabad and Telangana.

Participating in the debate on Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill in the State Assembly, Revanth Reddy said that it was true that people from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra region helped the Telangana people in liberating themselves from the Nizam's rule.

However, he alleged that Seemandhra leaders collected a huge reward by utilising the Telangana resources for the last so many decades for the help they extended before 1948. He said it was wrong on the part of Seemandhra leaders to stake claim on Hyderabad or Telangana.

Revanth Reddy accused former Prime Minister late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru of doing injustice with the Telangana region. He said people of Telangana suffered a lot due to a secret pact Pandit Nehru had with the Nizam for the merger of Hyderabad with Indian Union.

The TDP MLA said that when sacrifice by one Potti Sriramulu could lead to the formation of Andhra Pradesh, then why the suicide of over 1100 students and youth could not lead to formation of Telangana. These remarks triggered strong protest by the Seemandhra leades.

Intervening on the issue, Government Dronamraju Srinivas accused Revanth Reddy of distorting the history to hide the facts. He alleged that the youth did not lay down their lives for Telangana cause, but they killed themselves at the instigation of some leaders.

While the Telangana leaders are enjoying their lives, the families of those who committed suicide are still suffering, he said.

Continuing his speech, Revanth Reddy asked as to why the State was named "Andhra Pradesh" after its merger with Andhra. He said if the basis of State formation was language, then like Tamil Nadu, it should have been named "Telugu Nadu".

He said the State was named after Andhra for psychological reasons and to suppress the people of Telangana. He expressed regret that Urdu was not made the official language after Hyderabad's merger with Indian Union.

He said while chanting the Telugu slogans, the Seemandhra people silently learned English and acquired top positions in the government. Telangana people too would have been officers and not attenders, if Urdu would have been the official language of Hyderabad.

Revanth Reddy held the suppression of Telangana movement and use of force against pro-Telangana activists as one of the major reason for rise in naxalism.

He said youth who were subjected to injustice and denied job opportunities joined the armed struggle.

These remarks again evoked strong protest by Seemandhra MLAs of Congress and YSRCP. Speaker Nadendla Manohar then gave opportunity to Legislative Affairs Minister S Sailajanath.

Sailajanath strongly condemned Revanth Reddy's remarks and asked him to spell out his party's stand on Telangana issue.

He claimed that while TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu was in favour of united Andhra Pradesh, other leaders were speaking in different tones.

He asked Revanth Reddy to specify whether he was expressing his individual views or his party's stand on the statehood issue.

Strongly advocating the formation of Telangana, Revanth Reddy accused Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy of misleading the House by stating that Indira Gandhi was against the bifurcation.

He said that the Hyderabad State was divided into three parts and the immediate formation of Telangana was avoided primarily to weaken the case of Hyderabad State filed in the United Nations.

Several MLAs including Dr N Raghuveera Reddy, P Vishwaraoop and Kondru Murali, Government Chief Whip Gandra Venkataramana Reddy and others raised objections during Revanth Reddy's one-hour long speech.