Hyderabad:
A detailed discussion on the draft Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill 2013 continued in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly in Hyderabad on Friday, with members from Telangana welcoming and those from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema opposing it.
Andhra Pradesh Legislative Affairs Minister S Sailajanath made a forceful pitch against the bifurcation of the state.
"I totally oppose the draft Bill which is against the spirit of federalism and also against the spirit of those who sacrificed their lives for the unity of the Telugu people," Sailajanath said, adding that the draft Bill has hurt the self-respect of the Telugu people, he said.
He recalled that people from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema came to Hyderabad only at the request of people from the Telangana region.
"We sacrificed Kurnool as our capital only to make Hyderabad the capital of the Telugu state. We are not migrants but Telugu people," he said.
If anybody had betrayed the people of Telangana with false promises, it is the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), the minister said, adding that the TRS had promised lakhs of jobs to the youth if a new state was formed after bifurcation.
"How is that possible?" Sailajanath asked and alleged that the agitation for a separate Telangana state was started only for the sake of political power.
"One leader started this after he did not become a minister. First, they wanted a separate state in the name of development, but when the claim of under-development proved hollow, they changed the slogan to self-rule," Sailajanath said.
TRS legislators took exception to the minister's remarks and rushed into the well of the House in protest.
CPM legislator Julakanti Ranga Reddy blamed the Congress for the current imbroglio in the state.