Danam, Mukesh seek special status for Hyderabad

Labour Minister Danam Nagender and Marketing Minister M Mukhesh Goud on Wednesday demanded statehood for the Greater Hyderabad region in case the Centre decides to form separate Telangana. 

Talking to reporters at the Secretariat media point, the minister said that Hyderabad has a unique culture of its and it should not be forced to merge with any region. Therefore to protect city's cultural identity, the Greater Hyderabad should be given special status in case of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

Danam and Mukesh demanded that they should also be consulted before taking a final decision on the statehood issue. They said that Hyderabad was a true metropolitan and it has absorbed people from different regions and culture. However, Hyderabad's identity should not be diluted by merging it with one particular region.

They also denied the charges that they were seeking special status for Hyderabad at the instance of Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy. They said that they have won assembly elections four times and nobody could dictate them on what they should do.