State division is now national issue: YSRCP

, Dec 11, 2013: Asserting that the injustice being done to Andhra Pradesh has become a national issue, YSR Congress has said that it is only YS Jagan Mohan Reddy who is putting in all efforts to keep the state united while the Chief Minister and TDP President are helping in the Centre in the process of dividing the State.

“YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is always in the frontline in fighting against Sonia Gandhi and the Centre to keep the state united while Chandrababu Naidu even now did not spell out what the demand is for giving the no confidence notice and Kiran Kumar Reddy is has been speaking out of frustration,” party senior leader Konatala Ramakrishna told reporters here on Wednesday.

As the draft Bill will be coming to the Assembly, it is for the Chief Minister and N Chandrababu Naidu to create constitutional crisis and send the Bill back to keep the state united.

“While all Seemandhra leaders, cutting across party lines, have resigned after P Chidambaram announced of the Telangana state, which forced the Centre to rethink on the process why was such an act not repeated after the CWC nod and the Centre’s announcement for dividing the State.

 This clearly shows that the Chief Minister and Naidu are helping the Centre in the division process. It was only YS Jagan Mohan Reddy who had toured the entire country to bring a consensus among the leaders of national and regional parties on the injustice being done in the division process and the imperative need to amend article 3 as the party in power at Centre could split any strong state for political considerations.

His contention that there should an assembly resolution by two-thirds majority and should be passed by both Houses of Parliament with the same majority has been well received and it has become a point of discussion at national level, “he said.

For the past two days the national capital is agog with the talk about the undemocratic division of our State. Political parties like TMC, AIADMK, CPI, CPI (M) and others have extended support to the amendment to article 3.

Chief Minister has been telling that that the draft Bill will be defeated in the Assembly but whether there will be a voting on it or will it only be confined to discussion is the big question. Our leader has demanded time and again to convene the assembly and adopt a resolution against the division of the state to pre-empt such a situation but his view point was not taken.

Now the only way out is to create a constitutional crisis to stop the discussion of the Bill and it is in the hands of Kiran Kumar Reddy and Chandrababu Naidu to keep the state united. If the members, cutting across party lines react in the same way as they have done on December 10, 2009 things may work out in favour of the united state, he said.

The talk of a new political party is also doing rounds but it will lack credibility if they say that they have floated a new party as they could not stall the division process. On the contrary it will infer that they helped the Centre to divide the State, he said. Of the 25 MPs from Seemandhra only, 12 more have to sign the no confidence motion which shows their lack of commitment to the united state.

Chandrababu Naidu has always been helping Congress both at Centre and in the State and lacks clarity on the issue. While his party cadre is divided on regional lines, the leadership has been sidetracking the main issue and speaking of packages and other insipid issues.

When asked about the support sought by BJP, he said: we told the BJP President Rajnath Singh that though his party in favour of smaller states, the assembly was taken into consideration while dividing three states during NDA term. But in case of Andhra Pradesh the procedure was not followed and it is being done unilaterally.

“The need of the hour is to keep the State united and YSR Congress stands for it and supports anyone coming forward with the same agenda,” he said.