Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has come under sharp attack from the Opposition over his silence on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s criticism of the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
leader of Opposition in Telangana legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir charged KCR of mortgaging the self respect of Telangana people with Modi. “KCR should apologise to the people,” he demanded.
Shabbir was referring to the speech of Prime Minister at the foundation-stone laying ceremony of new AP Capital Amaravati on Thursday where he lashed out at the Congress for the hasty division of Andhra Pradesh in the presence of KCR.
“KCR’s silence over the criticism of bifurcation was an insult to the people who laid down their lives for Telangana State,” he said.
Addressing a Press conference here on Friday Mohammed Ali Shabbir and another Congress leader P Sudhakar Reddy said Modi’s speech was disappointing for the people of Andhra Pradesh as he remained silent on the issue of special status and package to the State.
On KCR attending the Capital foundation ceremony, the Congress leaders said he and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had entered into a ‘secret deal’ over the cash-for-vote scam and telephone tapping scandal. “We will soon expose the mediator behind the deal,” Sudhakar Reddy said.
Amaravati under Amrut
Meanwhile, Union Minister for Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday appreciated the presence of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in Thursday’s event and said cordial relations between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana would be in the interest of development.
He said the friendship and brotherly relations between the two States could be strengthened further if both the Chief Ministers take initiative to sort out the problems between the two states.
He also said the Amaravati would be included in the lists of the cities chosen under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
After participating in ground breaking ceremony for the Swarna Bharati Trust building in Shamshabad on Friday Naidu told the reporters that all the promises made to Andhra Pradesh would be fulfilled but it would take some time. “Doing justice to Andhra Pradesh is a continuous process,” he said.
The Central Government has decided to release funds of Rs663 crore for Andhra Pradesh under the Mission for 26 cities and towns.
A Rs646 crore will be spent on improving the drinking water supply system and Rs17 crore will be spent on Parks.
Meanwhile, the failure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in announcing special status for Andhra Pradesh on Thursday has provoked strong protest from the Opposition parties.
The Congress and the Communist Party of India on Friday strongly protested against the Prime Minister. Congress workers led by former Minister Devineni Nehru and Malladi Vishnu burnt the effigy of the Prime Minister outside the Congress office in Vijayawada. “We will continue our agitation till AP is accorded special category status,” Nehru said.
CPI State general secretary Rama Krishna said the party would take up a week-long agitation program as the Prime Minister had let down the people of Andhra Pradesh.