Andhra HRD minister said that Telangana was not the Vatican to have special powers
File photos of Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao (L) and Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu (R)
Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government is toying with the idea of raising the issue of Khammam, Bhadrachalam and Bidar not being part of Telangana before 1956, to counter Mr Rao’s 1956 benchmark. In such a case, all these places should be given to Andhra Pradesh.
Buttressing his claim that Mr Rao is unlikely to stop at only fee reimbursement issue, the AP minister recalled Mr Rao’s pre-poll statements of treating Seemandhra and Telangana people equally but he was now disowning the AP students when it came to the fee reimbursement issue. Before elections, Mr Rao had condemned the use of words such as “settlers” and that he would take care of people of all regions equally.
“There are Presidential orders, Article 371D, national guidelines on local status. We will take every step to protect the local status of our people i.e., four years’ continuous education. We will seek the Centre’s intervention too,” the AP HRD minister said.
Mr Srinivasa Rao added that the Telangana state or its Chief Minister did not have the right to change the local status guaranteed by the Constitution.
“The AP government is consulting legal experts and also the advocate general. Local status is a fundamental right of AP students and Seemandhra people and the residuary state will do everything to protect this right,” he said.
Stating that Mr Rao was creating a constitutional crisis by setting 1956 as the benchmark year for nativity, the AP HRD minister said that Telangana was not the Vatican to have special powers and that it was like any other state in the country. Mr Rao was deviating from the AP Regulation of Admissions Order, 1974, which clearly describes local status, he added.
“I appeal to Mr Rao not to politicise the nativity issue as future of lakhs of students is at stake. AP government is not concerned about fee reimbursement. Let the Telangana state decide whom it wants to give fee reimbursement. But changing local status norms is not the state’s subject,” Mr Srinivasa Rao said and added that he would meet the Union HRD minister on this issue.
The AP minister also blamed Mr Rao for trying to instigate people by raking up nativity issues only to divert the attention of people as the Telangana government had failed to implement its poll promises of Bangaru Telangana, two-bedroom houses for all the poor etc.
( Source : dc correspondent )
Next Story
