Governor power row: 'Centre not encroaching on Telangana govt's powers'

New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh dispelled apprehensions that the central government was trying to encroach upon the powers of Telangana government in matters of law and order, saying it was only implementing the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

Meeting a delegation of MPs of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) on Thursday, Singh asserted that the Centre would not do anything that would hurt the federal structure of the country.

"We are not encroaching the powers of the Chief Minister. We are only implementing the AP Reorganisation Act. We are strictly going by the Act," Singh told reporters here after the meeting.

TRS MP K Kavitha said that the Home Minister assured the delegation that the central government would not hurt the federal structure of the country.

"It was a very positive meeting, very fruitful meeting," he said.

The Telangana government has been protesting against the alleged overwhelming powers given to the state's Governor in matters of law and order in Hyderabad, which has become common capital of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Kavitha said Hyderabad is not a shared capital but the capital of Telangana, so powers of law and order should be vested with the state government like in any other state.

"Providing power to the Governor is an issue. The Home Minister has been sympathetic to the cause of Telangana," she said.