Zee Media Bureau
Hyderabad: In an open revolt against Congress leadership for its decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy Friday urged the president and the prime minister to intervene and ensure that established practices and conventions are followed.
In a three-page letter addressed separately to President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Chief Minister also urged the Centre to "initiate steps to bring peace and harmony as well as create a congenial atmosphere" before initiating any further steps on the Union Cabinet`s decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.
"The minimum we expect from the Government of India is to follow established practices and conventions and, as a first step, refer the matter to the AP State Assembly for appropriate resolution," he said.
"After getting the resolution and building consensus among various stakeholders, the Bill can be sent to the President for further reference to the State Legislature," he wrote in a letter to the Prime Minister.
In the letter to the President, he requested him to "direct the Union Government to seek resolution on the division of the State from the Legislature, as per conventions established".
"After getting the appropriate resolution, through a transparent process of open discussion and debate, we need to build consensus among various stakeholders before the draft Bill is sent by His Excellency to the State Legislature," he wrote in his letter.
Reddy claimed that the government was going ahead with the process without building a consensus and doing the homework to address the concerns of Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra) people.
"Strong belief is gaining ground that Government of India is ignoring majority people`s opinion," he said.
Kiran Reddy pointed out that the process to create Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand was initiated only after assemblies of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh passed unanimous resolutions.
The chief minister highlighted the concerns of Seemandhra with respect to sharing of irrigation water and management of major dams.
"Accessibility to employment, education and medical infrastructure developed in the capital city of Hyderabad and the status of Hyderabad which got transformed into an island of opportunities for entire Telugu people are other major concerns that demand solutions.
"There was also no precedent where an existing capital as such was given away to a newly created State. Government of India so far did not listen to various stakeholders nor worked towards finding solutions to any of these issues," he wrote.
"Pursuing division process, without doing any homework by Government of India is creating anxiety and apprehensions in the minds of majority of the population," he added.
He pointed out that Sri Krishna Committee report was neither discussed in parliament nor its recommendations were considered.
He also said Antony Committee appointed by the party did not complete its task of consulting various stakeholders.
"Why GoI is not willing to wait for the committee`s Report nor is open to debate and discussion in parliament about such an important matter is something that we cannot understand."
He alleged that the note also was brought before cabinet apparently waiving due consultation process with the related ninistries in a hurried manner on the pretext that the composition of Group of Ministers covers all the important ministries that are expected to be consulted.
With agency inputs
