Andhra Pradesh

APCC chief’s advice ignored

HYDERABAD: The warning issued by Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president D. Srinivas to partymen to refrain from making comments on the contentious Telangana issue openly has been ignored by the ruling party leaders.

Within hours after Mr. Srinivas’s advice in an informal talk with reporters in Gandhi Bhavan on Friday, Congress Legislative Party secretary E. Pratap Reddy made a forceful demand for creation of Greater Rayalaseema in the event that a separate Telangana was carved out.

The PCC chief issued the warning following a flurry of statements by party leaders, particularly Minister for Roads and Buildings Minister T. Jeevan Reddy, who wanted a compensation of Rs. One lakh crore to Telangana in the event of bifurcation of the State.

Referring to such statements, he said everybody knew that Telangana had been a sensitive issue right from 1969.

He said it was not the question of whether the State would be bifurcated or not. But, due care should be taken by the leaders to avoid controversial statements that would lower the prestige of the party.

“Every body has to abide by the decision of the high command. If any body continues to raise his or her voice on the statehood or other issue, a complaint would be lodged with the AICC seeking disciplinary action,” he warned.

An hour later, Mr. Pratap Reddy differed with the remarks of Mr. Jeevan Reddy seeking compensation for Telangana in the event of bifurcation. “Everybody knows that it is Rayalaseema, which is backward in all spheres,” he said.

He said people of Rayalaseema would not keep quiet if the State was bifurcated. “We are for ‘Greater Rayalaseema’ and hundreds of crores as compensation to develop our own State,” he added.

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