Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh:
Congress-affiliated National Students Union of India (NSUI) today demanded that Hyderabad be made a permanent capital of proposed Telangana state and the Seemandhra region which comprises coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema.
IGV Sriraj, son of Congress MP G V Harsha Kumar and NSUI leader, has written a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi in which he suggested that Hyderabad either be made the second capital of India or a union territory.
The demand for Hyderabad as the second capital of India has also been raised by opposition TDP and other non-Telanagana players whereas K Chandrasekhar Rao-led TRS has voiced his opposition to Hyderabad as a Union Territory or joint capital.
Sriraj, the NSUI leader from Andhra Pradesh, said the Congress Working Committee's stand on status of Hyderabad is ambiguous and even detrimental to the interest of the state in long term.
"Hyderabad, which is a developing IT, will lose many investment opportunities," he said.
"I regret to inform you that we are not happy with the decision on Hyderabad, which is the heart of Andhra Pradesh, being announced as an integral part of Telangana region and which will later be serving as a capital city of only Telangana," Sriraj said in his letter to Sonia, Digvijay Singh and other functionaries.
CWC in its resolution on division of Andhra Pradesh has proposed that Hyderabad will remain as joint capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for ten years.
Sriraj's father G V Harsha Kumar, who represents Amalapuram Lok Sabha seat, recently resigned in protest against division of state.
"Since all important educational institutions are situated in Hyderabad. Developing another capital will cost a lot of money which will eventually affect the common man in the form of taxes," Sriraj said, adding that confining Hyderabad only to one region may affect overall development.