Hyderabad, August 2;Accusing the Congress of dividing Andhra Pradesh only to serve its political interests, five MPs of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Friday resigned from their posts.
The MPs – Y. Satyanarayana Choudary, C.M. Ramesh (both Rajya Sabha), Nimmala Kistappa, Konakalla Narayana and Modugula Venugopal Reddy (Lok Sabha) – said they were resigning in protest against the “injustice” being meted out to (new) Andhra Pradesh through the division.
“Our party has favoured creation of Telangana state. We stand by it. We are not against the Bill (for creation of a new state). But we want the interests of new Andhra Pradesh, that will come into being upon bifurcation, to be protected,” the MPs announced at a press conference here.
“The Congress party unilaterally decided to divide Andhra Pradesh without discussing the modalities with all concerned. There is no clarity on sharing of river waters, revenue, the new capital, protection of interests of farmers and youth, creation of job opportunities, etc. We want the Centre to come clear on our concerns and address them in a proper manner so that there will be no heartburn among people,” the MPs said.
“Without proper allocation of water resources, farmers in Andhra-Rayalaseema regions would be the sufferers,” they apprehended.
Meanwhile, TDP’s Rajya Sabha member Nandamuri Harikrishna – who was not present at the press conference – wrote an open letter to people on the division issue of the State.
“I bow my head to the wishes of people of Telangana and accept the bifurcation of the state. The TDP is not against bifurcation but Sonia Gandhi has left one eye bleeding by not addressing the concerns of people of Andhra-Rayalaseema,” Mr. Harikrishna lashed out.
“When a joint family gets divided, the assets are distributed in the presence of elders. Without following such tradition and holding consultations, how could Sonia Gandhi leave one region in the lurch,” he questioned.
