T will revolt if Centre budges, warns KCR

• Telangana needs package for five decades of raw deal
• Hyderabad can be joint capital only for a certain term
• Until Seemandhra capital is ready, its staff should be treated as tourists

Hyderabad: The Telangana State deserves a financial package for the ill-treatment meted out to the region in the last five decades, TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao said. The new state needs the support of the Centre in its reconstruction journey, and this issue was brought to the notice of the higher-ups in the government during his recent visit to the national capital, he said.

He was inaugurating the Gazetted Bhavan, the central headquarters of the Telangana Gazetted Officers (TGOs), at Gruhakalpa premises on Thursday. Also present were TJAC chairman Prof Kodandaram, senior BJP leader Ch Vidyasagar and TGO president V Srinivas Goud among others.

Addressing a sizable gathering of Gazetted Officers from the 10 districts of Telangana, the TRS chief said that they were least bothered whether financial assistance was given to Seemandhra state. For all the injustice, ill-treatment and gross neglect that Telangana region faced after merged into Andhra Pradesh, the region deserved the due support of the Union Government, he said Rao said that the people of the region would not accept anything other than Telangana with 10 districts including Hyderabad. “Telangana region will witness a revolt if the Union Government goes against the aspirations of the public here,” he cautioned.

According to him, the opposition by Seemandhra politicians was all about ownership on Hyderabad and nothing else. He called upon the Telangana community to be extra vigilant to foil the designs of Seemandhra politicians until Telangana Bill got the nod of Parliament.

However, in a major shift from the stand taken by TJAC which said that they would not agree to the common capital status for Hyderabad, Rao pointed out that the Seemandhra state administration could function for a definite period from Hyderabad until infrastructure was put in place for the new State capital.

“The 15,000 to 20,000 employees of that government based in Hyderabad in the meantime should be treated as tourists because they would be paying taxes and contributing to the exchequer of Telangana government. They would be doing injustice to Seemandhra region and their public, if they prolong their stay here,” he felt.

The TRS chief dismissed the arguments made by Seeemandhra MPs for the last few days that Union Government was doing a rethink on its Telangana decision. Prime Minister himself made it clear that Centre had made up its mind on Telangana and there was no going back on the decision. Even Union Minister P Chidambaram announced in Parliament that the UPA Government was taking steps for formation of Telangana state, KCR reminded.

The statements by a few Seemandhra leaders that Hyderabad region alone garnered around 70 per cent of revenue was not correct, Rao said. Many industries in Medak, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar and Ranga Reddy districts that fall within GHMC and HMDA limits contribute a major chunk of this revenue. How could Seemandhra region demand a share from the revenue generated from the industries set up in Telangana districts, he questioned.

Rao appealed to the Seemandhra politicians not to fuel hatred among people of both regions by their stubborn stand. He said that the coming generations would face the brunt of it, since both states would share common boundaries from Alampur (Mahabubnagar district) to Bhadrachalam (Khammam district). The Telangana community is ready for discussion on any issue provided Seemandhra politicians agree to division of the state, he added.