Venkaiah hits out at Congress over Telangana Bill

• Cong was not serious in introducing T bill, says Venkaiah
• MLAs and ministers were divided along regional lines
• Centre violated all conventions during tabling of the Bill

Hyderabad: The BJP senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu faulted the Congress for not doing any ‘homework’ before passing the bill to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh. He said it tried to gain political gains by creating rift between Seemandhra and Telangana people on the sensitive issue.

In a face to face programme with HMTV and The Hans India Editor –in- Chief K Ramachandra Murthy, BJP senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu said the Congress was not sincere in introducing the T bill in Lok Sabha following the vertical division among the party MLAs and union ministers on regional lines.

Initially, the party wanted to introduce the bill in the Parliament and leave it to the house on the pretext that the opposition parties and Seemandhra MPs were not supporting the bifurcation of the state. To create this impression, the government amidst ruckus introduced the Bill in two minutes and adjourned the Lok Sabha without informing the opposition. Centre violated all conventions during tabling of the bill.

It was the BJP which had taken up the issue seriously and raised strong objections on the methods the centre was adopting in dealing with the issue without consulting the opposition parties particularly the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. Realising the mistake it had committed and the likely damage it could cause, the union government jumped into action and invited BJP to resolve the issue through a dialogue. Naidu said taking it as an opportunity, the party put some important demands before the centre and insisted that they be accepted. Naidu said taking serious note of the grievances and demands raised by the Seemandhra people, the party asked the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to award special package for the residuary state of AP, special status for backward areas for 10 years and protection of Seemandhra people living in Hyderabad. Finally, the centre accepted the demands. However, the permission required from National Development Council (NDC) and Planning Commission was not sought for the implementation, he added. Refuting reports that BJP senior leader LK Advani was opposed to the introduction of the T bill, Naidu said Advani was not against the Telangana but objected introduction of any bill during the vote on account budget session. He felt the Congress lacked sincerity in solving the issues.

The BJP leader wanted the development of capital city for residuary state to be put on fast track because the joint capital for two states for 10 years would invite problems for the smooth conduct of administration. To a query, the BJP leader said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was not a competitor for BJP in the election. People realized that BJP’s Prime ministerial candidate Naredhra Modi was the right candidate and hoped that people would not waste their votes by supporting AAP.