The YSR Congress Party and the CPI(M) on Wednesday reiterated to the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Telangana that Andhra Pradesh should be kept united as the "devil of division" will raise its ugly head in other States and create more problems.
The YSR Congress urged the Centre to stop the division process forthwith as it would spell "doom" to a multitude of Telugu people for generations to come. In a letter submitted to GoM, the party said that it would oppose every step towards bifurcation of the State. "Our Party reiterates with clarity and conviction that the State should be united".
Maintaining that the State should not be bifurcated, BV Raghavulu, Andhra Pradesh CPM secretary said, "We have expressed our opinion that Andhra Pradesh should be kept intact as more problems would recur than be solved. Our party has suggested various measures to improve the livelihood in backward regions of the State," he said talking to media. If bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh is inevitable, the Centre has to face problems arising out of dividing it, he said.
GoM on Telangana comprising Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Defence Minister AK Antony, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and others invited eight political parties from Andhra Pradesh for individual meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday to present their views on the bifurcation issue.
Andhra Pradesh Tourism Minister Vatti Vasant Kumar said, he had urged the GoM to make Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Area a Union Territory. The BJP State unit president G Kishan Reddy alleged that all-party meeting convened by the GoM on the issue of division of Andhra Pradesh was only an eye-wash. The party had already conveyed about its stand to GoM on Tuesday and with this the two day meeting of GoM on the issues ended.