No need for Section 8: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to Governor

Hyderabad: An upset Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday called on Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and informed him that the city of Hyderabad, and Telangana state, were quite peaceful since bifurcation. Law and order was a state subject and the situation did not warrant implementation of Section 8 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

The meeting assumes significance in view of Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi advising the Governor to step in when there was a dispute between Telangana and AP over jurisdiction of the joint capital of Hyderabad and related issues, including the cash-for-vote case.

Read: ESL Narasimha tells KCR to stay calm

However, highly-placed sources refuted any such advice from the A-G or the Union home ministry to the Raj Bhavan. “Why will the Attorney-General give advice to the Governor directly? He will give to the Union home ministry if asked. So far, there has been no such advice from the A-G to the home ministry or from the Union home ministry to the Raj Bhavan,” the source said.

There were also reports in the media that CMs and other national leaders had spoken to Mr Rao and promised to lodge protests with the Centre if TS was deprived of powers over Hyderabad.

Sources said Mr Rao, who spent an hour at the Raj Bhavan, complained to the Governor against AP CM N. Chandrababu Naidu’s counter-offensive after the cash-for-vote case, his attempts to whip up emotions, create unrest in Hyderabad and save himself from being booked in the case and cover up his alleged misdeeds.

Mr Rao told the Governor that Mr Naidu was trying to scuttle the ACB investigation in the cash-for-vote case, tamper with evidence, was harbouring accused/witnesses like TD MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah, Jerusalem Mathaiah and others, and threatening mobile operators in AP through the SIT probe. The Governor told Mr Rao to remain calm and that law would take its own course.