Seema-Andhra leaders meet PM; vehemently oppose bifurcation of the state

Congress legislators and senior leaders from Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema   regions met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh this morning and strongly opposed any move for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

The delegation led by the Higher Education Minister K. Sailaja Nath and Senior MP K. S. Rao consisted of   the Ministers, Members of Parliament, Legislative Assembly and Council apprised the Prime Minister of the latest situation prevailing in the state and strongly appealed for keeping the state united and requested him not to take steps which may hurt the unity of the state.

During the meeting which lasted for 30 minutes the Seema-Andhra leaders explained their position to the Prime Minister who asked them to be patient   as   disciplined party workers   till a decision is taken.

In a bid   to thwart the attempts of the Telangana protagonists the   senior leaders from the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions are camping in Delhi and   meeting the people who matter.

Their visit to the National Headquarters comes on the heels of Congress leaders from Telangana region ignoring an invitation from Azad to come to New Delhi for talks. The Telangana leaders are upset with Azad’s remarks in Beijing that the issue “cannot move an inch forward” unless the Andhra Pradesh Assembly passes a resolution favouring creation of Telangana.

The leaders from Non Telangana regions   told the Prime Minister that Andhra Pradesh should be kept united at all costs and no step   should be taken which may lead for division of the state.

The delegation is slated to   meet Pranab Mukherjee, A K Antony and P Chidambaram during the day to press their demand.

Talking to media after the meeting, Sailajanath told that the Prime Minister gave a patient hearing to them on all the issues raised and promised to convey their sentiments to AICC General Secretary and party in-charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs Sri Ghulam Nabi Azad.

The delegation requested the Prime Minister to go by the sixth option recommended by the Justice B N Srikrishna Committee, which states that Andhra Pradesh should be kept united with Constitutional/Statutory powers to Telangana and formation of a regional council to ensure development in that region.

Gade Venkata Reddy exhorted the need for keeping the state united. Minister Parthasarthy said that the development of the state could be possible in the integrated state only.