Jagan tells CPM Article 3 being misused

Following is the full text of the letter submitted to CPM leaders by YSRCP Chief Sri Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in Delhi Saturday morning seeking their cooperation in his efforts to keep the state united and preventing the misuse of Ariticle 3 of the Constitution.

 Sri Prakash Karat,

General Secretary,

Communist Party of India (Marxist)

New Delhi

 Sir,                 

The Congress Party seems to be in a tearing hurry to divide Andhra Pradesh State for political reasons, unmindful of the consequences, giving scant respect to the sentiments of a multitude of the local people that is against the division.  

Despite a tempestuous  outrage against the division by people who are protesting for over three months, the adamant ruling Party is going ahead with its plans of separating the State at a breakneck speed.  

My humble request to you is to oppose the division of Andhra Pradesh and reject the Bill in the Parliament when it is tabled, as the Bill reflects the megalomaniac nature of the Congress Party and is not in the true spirit of the federal structure as it is not the voice of the people, as more than 75% of the people of Andhra Pradesh want to remain united.  

This is the time to reckon with all national parties and stand up against the injustice meted out to Andhra Pradesh. This resistance should be put up by every political party that believes in democracy and public opinion as this is not the problem of Andhra Pradesh alone. It is the dichotomy, arrogance and authoritarianism of the ruling party that is being questioned and challenged.  

Let not Andhra Pradesh be a precedent for the divisive tactics of the Party in power at the Centre. If political parties that subscribe to democracy and value based politics remain mute spectators, it could happen to anyone and in any state tomorrow.  

I call upon you to extend your support for the cause of a United Andhra Pradesh and express solidarity with us in the Parliament and outside as well which could be an eye-opener to the Congress, preventing it from indulging in any such misadventures in future.  

To give you a brief scenario of Andhra Pradesh, after the death of YSR, the state plunged into chaos and administration has virtually come to a halt for the past 4 1/2 years. People are facing several hardships and are vexed with the anti-people policies of the state government.  

Anti-incumbency has shot skyward and the writing is on the wall that the Congress Party is losing and losing badly as was evident from the by-elections in which its candidates lost deposits or fared very badly.  

Congress has whipped up regional passions and brought things to this situation only to divert the attention of the people from its failures and to win a few seats and votes at least in one region.  

Being in public life you must be aware of the lexicon of democracy and how a State should be divided and under what circumstances and the methodology to be adopted. Though 75% per cent of the population is opposing the division, it is going ahead with its plans of bifurcating the state and is trying to redefine democracy in its dictatorial accent.  

Even if you stretch your memory to any extent, I believe, you will not recall a division of this sort that has happened in the Indian history since independence. When the Congress is bypassing all the best practices and precedents, I am sure that you will extend your helping hand to our fight for justice to keep the state united.

The infamous Partition of Bengal in 1905 by Lord Curzon (the then Viceroy of India) is coming to the memory of Telugu people afresh along with the British ideology of Divide and Rule as it is the same principle that AICC is adopting now. All the democratic forces in this country have to give a thought in the following lines.

1. Can the Centre use the powers vested on it arbitrarily and take undue advantage to garner a few votes and seats?

2. The Central Government took a unilateral decision to divide the State on December 9, 2009 and decision was dubbed by Congress as a birthday gift by Party President Sonia Gandhi. Can such a yardstick be applied for dividing the State?

3. Though the Centre has the power to divide the State, can it take decisions without any concrete basis, consent of the concerned assembly and rationality? The Centre does not recognize the fact that Andhra Pradesh state was formed on recommendations of the State Reorganization Commission (SRC) which regrouped the states on linguistic basis in 1955.  

4. There are numerous demands for separate states elsewhere in the country. In some cases, the concerned assemblies have adopted and favoured a resolution for the division and sent it to the Centre, which in turn have been ignored so far. But it is moving at a break-neck speed to split Andhra Pradesh just six months ahead of the general elections. Why?

5. If the Parliament endorses the division of Andhra Pradesh today, such arbitrary procedure in the days to come, will it not set a precedent for any Government at the Centre in future to arbitrarily divide any State with a simple majority in the Parliament?

6. How did the Centre take decision on bifurcating the State on October 3, 2013 without the consent of the State Assembly? Earlier, Srikrishna Committee in its report suggested that the State stands to lose if it is divided and in the first preference it has mentioned to keep the State united. In that case what is the basis of the Cabinet note on division? Is it justified?  

In 1956, assemblies of the two states of Andhra and Hyderabad separately adopted a resolution with a two-third majority for the formation of Andhra Pradesh State. Hyderabad assembly had adopted a resolution with a two-third majority for the formation of Vishalandhra (Andhra Pradesh) on linguistic basis. In the 174-member Hyderabad State Assembly, 147 participated in the voting and 103 members agreed for Vishalandhra (Andhra Pradesh).  

Respecting the feelings of Telangana people who wanted Vishalandhra, the then Chief Minister of Hyderabad State, Burgula Ramakrishna Rao (a son of Telangana) sacrificed his post as Chief Minister and helped the resolution getting the sanctity of the House. Similarly, the Andhra Assembly also unanimously adopted a resolution for Vishalandhra.

It’s worth recalling the speech of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on the floor of the Parliament in 1972 (which is categorical on the unity of the State). In her own words, Mrs. Gandhi has said

 “Perhaps, it was this long history which inspired the Telugu speaking people when they yearned and struggled for several decades to form a unified Andhra Pradesh. May I cite a bit of my personal experience? I happened to be touring parts of the south just before the report of the sates reorganization commission was made public and my ears are still reverberating with the full-throated cries of Vishalandhra. It was really the will of Telugu-speaking people which prevailed over the proposal of some people to retain the old Hyderabad state”.  

The Government policy is like that of the Nazi philosophy before the World War II. Here we place the most popular quote by Martin Niemöller, the German theologian.

First they came for the communists,

and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the socialists,

and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,

and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,

and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics,

and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Catholic.

Then they came for me,

and there was no one left to speak for me.  

If the intelligentsia, democratic institutions and people who respect the constitution keep quiet and do not react to the injustice being meted out by the Centre to Andhra Pradesh, the devil of division will raise its ugly head in any every state in the coming days, with any party in power at the Centre unleashing their authority to weaken the state where they think they have no chance.  

As these states have already been reconstituted on recommendations of State Reorganization Commission on linguistic basis, there is an absolute need to bring in a constitutional amendment which makes a two-third majority in the State Assembly and Parliament mandatory to divide or to form a new State.                       

While amendment to the article 3 is a must in the days to come, the urgent need is to oppose the bifurcation bill of Andhra Pradesh in the Parliament and wherever it is placed.

We are enclosing herewith a brief note on the need to amend Article 3 which empowers the Centre for creating new States. We are also attaching our letter to Group of Ministers (GoM) set up for the division of Andhra Pradesh which will further clear the air for you. The letter details the ill effects of the proposed division of Andhra Pradesh.  

This is the crucial hour, as democracy is on the threshold of a deceitful mansion. We have to save it and preserve its sanctity as the will of people should prevail and not the arithmetic of a few leaders. 

I once again urge you all to express solidarity with us in the fight for a united Andhra Pradesh and defeat the Bill in Parliament and join hands for the upkeep of democracy.

 Thanking you

 Yours Sincerely 

(YS Jagan Mohan Reddy)

 President