We are deeply saddened at the way the issue
of Telangana is being handled by the Congress Party, which is leading the
present UPA Government at the Center, in a most opportunistic manner,
completely unmindful of the consequences of their actions.
Ever since the Congress Working Committee
(CWC), in supersession of its earlier decision in the year 2001 to resolve the
demands from various states in the country for separate statehood by
constituting a second States Reorganization Committee (SRC), announced its
decision on 30th July 2013 to accede to the demand for creation of
only Telangana state by division of Andhra Pradesh, while ignoring all other
demands like Gorkhaland, Bodoland, Vidharbha, Harith Pradesh etc, things have
never been the same in Andhra Pradesh.
There has been a spontaneous upsurge against
this unilateral and arbitrary decision by the CWC in Andhra region (comprising
Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema), with large number of people taking to streets
against the injustice meted out to them by this decision. The ongoing agitation
which is by and large apolitical and voluntary has paralysed the entire
administration in that region, as a number of
NGO, Teachers, Lawyers, Transport associations are actively
participating in the ongoing agitations.
The main reason for this resentment is the
timing of the decision and the autocratic manner in which it is taken without
finding solutions for a large number of complex problems like the future of
Hyderabad city, water sharing, revenue sharing, the cost of replicating a new
capital like Hyderabad in Andhra region and the cost of creation and time
required for creation of social and
industrial infrastructure in Andhra region if the state is divided.
For instance, Hyderabad Metropolitan
Development Area (HMDA) has emerged not only as a political capital of Andhra
Pradesh but also as a super economic power house accounting for 70% of the
manufacturing GDP of the state and 95% of the software activity of the state,
besides housing almost all the institutions of higher learning and the most
prestigious civil and defence research laboratories. The HMDA accounts
approximately for 40% of the states own revenues. Unfortunately, Successive
Governments in the state have encouraged all the industrial investments both in
public and private sectors in HMDA although there are many districts in Andhra
region which have much better connectivity and infrastructure compared to the
districts in various states which are presently housing large public sector
units. As almost all the public sector units were located in HMDA, the private
sector also had to come here initially as ancillaries and these have now become
global giants. It is important to note that the people from Andhra region have
moved to Hyderabad and invested their destiny as it happens to be the capital
of entire Andhra Pradesh.
If the State is divided, what will happen to
the investments of the people from Andhra region? Is it possible to migrate all
these industries to Andhra region? How much of time and money is required to
recreate the same in Andhra region and who is going to fund it? What will
happen to the revenues that are accruing in HMDA? How will the Central
Government compensate Andhra region for the loss of revenue in HMDA area? Will the Central Government be able to
promote all the institutions of higher learning and civil and defence research
laboratories besides the Public sector units in Andhra region?
Similarly, what will happen to irrigation
projects and water sharing? Even now, about 62% of the states work force is
engaged in Agriculture, for which water becomes very critical. Four major
irrigation projects were constructed on Krishna, Godavari and Penna rivers in
1850s by the then British Government. After independence, the Nagarjunasagar,
Srisailam and Jurala Projects were implemented in Andhra Pradesh with defined
water allotments to both Andhra and Telangana regions. The releases are going
on smoothly for the last several decades. However, given the experience of
upper riparian states not releasing the allotted water to tail end states like
us in the years of rainfall deficit even in the face of directions from Supreme
Court, Inter-state Water Tribunals and Central Government, these projects are likely to face even
greater problems if a new state is created. We have been seeing as to how
inter-state arrangements for water releases from Tungabhadra dam at Hospet have
completely failed to protect the interests of Rayalaseema region, which has
been getting, in most of the years, only 60% of the allotted water share. With the proposed division of the state, the
problems will be multiplied in proportions unheard and the Andhra region has to
contend itself with salt water! It is surprising that the CWC resolution does
not talk of the fate of Bhadrachalam division which has been added to Khammam
district in 1959 from East Godavari district of Andhra region. Without
addressing this, how does the CWC hope that Polavaram project will get enough
water?
Is it not a fact that without finding
solutions for these important issues connected with livelihoods of over 62% of
state’s population, division of the State will create huge problems for the
people of Andhra region, particularly in the context of the entire
manufacturing industry and software business remaining in HMDA which is slated to be part of Telangana state
as per CWC resolution? This means that if the State is divided, the entire
Andhra region will be deprived of their due share of water for irrigation
projects, revenues from HMDA and complete loss of industry and services sector.
It is exactly for these reasons that at the all party meeting held on 28th
December 2012, under the chairmanship of the Hon’ble Union Home Minister on the
issue of Telangana, our party submitted that, as the power to create new states
is vested with the Central Government and Parliament under Article 3 of
the Constitution of India, the
Government of India should take a proper decision on this sensitive issue
ensuring that justice is done to people of both the regions of the state viz
Andhra and Telangana regions.
Immediately after the announcement of the
decision by the CWC, we demanded that the
Government of India should place the entire proposal for division addressing
the important issues like water sharing and revenue sharing, the funding for
new capital city and infrastructure creation etc for discussion with various
stakeholders before the final decision on the issue of division of the state is
taken. For this, the Central Government could have appointed a high
powered committee comprising Politicians, Economists, Irrigation and Legal
experts to study all the above issues in a dispassionate manner. Instead of appointing a High Powered
Committee by the Government, surprisingly a Congress committee headed by
Mr. A K Anthony was appointed not to
dispassionately study the feasibility of the division of the State keeping in
mind the above complex issues but to somehow divide the State.
Protesting against this, I along with both
the Members of Parliament from our party including the Party President Sri. Y S
Jagan Mohan Reddy have resigned from our respective positions as Member of
Legislative Assembly and as Members of Parliament to stand by the people
fighting for justice. We have written a open letter bringing out the
consequences of the decision taken by the Congress Working Committee to divide
the State of Andhra Pradesh and a copy of the same was faxed to the Prime
Minister on 14th August 2013. A copy of the same is enclosed. Several
of our Party MLAs including myself were on indefinite fast but the Government
has been most undemocratically foisting it. Having no other option, our Party
President Sri. Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has started an indefinite fast from 25th
August 2013 from his cell in Chanchalguda jail in Hyderabad. The situation is
slowly going out of hand. There is absolutely no governance in the State for
the last 4 years. All sections of people are suffering because of the
uncertainty prevailing in the state.
In the light of the above, we request you to
kindly direct the Union Government not to take up the issue of division of
State until a satisfactory solution is found for all the problems listed above
and until People of both the regions are satisfied that Justice can be done to
them. We have been demanding that that
status quo be maintained in case Justice cannot be done for both the regions.
Will take oath at Visakha: CM
