ANDHRA LEADERS BREAK BREAD WITH T MANTRIS

Even as the separate Telangana and Samaikhya Andhra fight is on, senior Congress leader and staunch advocate of separate Andhra state Vasanta Nageswara Rao said Hyderabad was not at all a bone of contention and a separate Andhra state would have its own capital.  Rao along with Jai Andhra state leaders is in New Delhi to meet the Congress high command and core committee members to plead for an early division of the state.

On Sunday, he along with Congress MP from Amalapuram G H Harsha Kumar met Veerappa Moily and Pranab Mukherjee to convey that the people in Andhra region were not opposed to the creation of a separate Telangana.  Talking to TOI, Rao, who is currently the chairman of the Andhra Pradesh State Cooperative Bank Limited , said a movement was planned to demand a friendly and amicable division of the state.  The united Andhra movement launched by some MPs and MLAs is only a temporary activity. There is no such demand among the people of Andhra region. They are all for a separate Andhra state, Rao said.

Rao who was in the forefront of 1972 Jai Andhra movement, categorically said a pre-1956 status is better for both the regions.We want bifurcation of the state as it existed before November 1, 1956. Andhra state will comprise coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, he said.  As for the apprehensions of the people of Rayalaseema , he said such issues could be settled only after the bifurcation of state.

What is interesting is Rao and Harsha Kumar joined the luncheon meeting of nine Telangana ministers hosted by Rajya Sabha MP V Hanumantha Rao at his 11, Janpath residence, just across the residence of Sonia Gandhi. Others included Union urban development minister Jaipal Reddy, Congress working committee member K Kesavarao, Lok Sabha members Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy and Mandha Jagannatham.  Rao categorically assured the Telangana leaders that Andhra people did not want Hyderabad city in any form. He, however, said that Hyderabad should be allowed to be a joint capital till a new capital for Andhra region was in place.

But before the bifurcation of the state, We want the Centre to make a commitment to bear the entire expenditure for building a new capital. His list of other demands include national status for Polavaram project , elevation of Baptla Agriculture College to a university and an action plan to set up marine and agro industries along the coast line.  Stating that he was not alone in demanding the early bifurcation of the state, Rao said several state cabinet ministers were in touch with him but declined to name them.

We are planning a movement for a separate Andhra state. After my meetings with Congress high command and core committee, we will reveal our action plan, he said.

(SOURCE : TOI)