Seemandhra Congress team meets President

New Delhi: A delegation of around 40 Andhra Pradesh Ministers, MLAs, MLCs and MPs on Thursday night called on President Pranab Mukherjee and urged him to make use of Constitutional provisions to stall the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh till the concerns of the people of Seemandhra are fully addressed.

The Seemandhra Congress leaders described the Centre’s decision on bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh as “undemocratic, unconstitutional and as militating against the spirit of federalism.” The President was understood to have given a patient hearing but did not react or respond to any of their pleas. The delegation raised that prior to 2000, all the new States were created on the basis of linguistic reorganization of States.

For the first time, the States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand were formed, not based on the linguistic principle. It was for this reason that a new principle was evolved that a resolution should be moved in the parent State Assembly, which becomes the basis for the formation of the new State. In the case of the three new States, the parent States of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh Assemblies passed relevant resolutions.

It was pointed out to Pranab Mukherjee that the then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, in his statement on December 9, 2009, had stated that the process of creation of Telangana would be set in motion and an appropriate resolution would be moved in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly.

Minister T G Venkatesh pointed out that it is for the first in the history of the nation that a State that had been reorganized was being sought to be further reorganized. Andhra Pradesh was reorganized by merging the erstwhile Hyderabad State with the Andhra State to form Andhra Pradesh. Now it is once again being reorganized all over again, which is something unprecedented. Ministers Ganta Srinivas Rao and Shailajanath insisted that the division of Andhra Pradesh was against the wishes of the people of Andhra Pradesh. The elected representatives were not taken into confidence on the issue of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. The GoM also did not visit Andhra Pradesh to know the issues on the ground first-hand. Yet, the Centre was pressing ahead with the process of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, they said.

Later, the Seemandhra Congress delegation called on AICC General Secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Digvijay Singh. Unfazed by the angry outpouring of the Seemandhra Congress leaders, Singh them justice would be done to the people of Seemandhra region. Students, businessmen, employees and farmers – everyone’s interests would be safeguarded, he said. Security would be provided to the Seemandhra people in Hyderabad. Backward areas in Rayalaseema and North Coastal Andhra would also be looked after. “Together, we will try to ensure the best possible deal for the people of Seemandhra,” he said.

The Seemandhra Congress delegation complained that the Antony Committee did not visit Andhra Pradesh. Singh was reminded of his assurance to visit Hyderabad. Saying that Defence Minister A K Antony and Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily were not well, Singh said Congress President’s Political Secretary Ahmed Patel and he would visit Hyderabad. But that never happened, they said. The GoM also did not visit Andhra Pradesh, they said and regretted that the Centre was not following the laid-down procedure in creating Telangana.