Peace will help AP, Telangana develop: President

Hyderabad: Referring to the AP-TS rift, President Pranab Mukherjee said problems would always arise, particularly when a new entity was carved out of its own framework. “We shall have to learn one lesson in our domestic as well as international relations. We can choose our friends but we cannot choose our neighbours. You may like it, you may not like it. It is for us to decide whether we should live with our neighbours in peace, harmony or in perpetual tension,” he said.

 

He added, “And that is the lesson of history. One of the most important commandments of Christ to us... of the 10 Commandments, says: ‘Love thy neighbour’. Therefore, my appeal to all concerned would be... now it is a reality; Telangana has come to exist. AP and Telangana must work in harmony for the betterment of people.”

 

Telangana, AP and all bordering states should work in close harmony because “we belong to India and working in close harmony will ensure sustainable development which is the desire and for which the PM is taking a number of initiatives”, he said.

 

Mr Mukherjee also paid tributes to the leaders who had struggled to establish an independent Telangana state. “If we work in close cooperation in an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity, understanding and harmony, nothing can resist us. We can fulfil all the cherished goals,” the President added.