The Tadipatri Congress MLA and former Minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy on Saturday pitched in strongly for Rayala-Telangana.
Stating that Rayala-Telangana comprising Anantapur and Kurnool districts besides the ten districts of Telangana as the best alternative in the context of the division of the State, he said that the Congress high command had virtually denied any possibility of an united State. “If Anantapur district is to get any water-for drinking and irrigation purposes-the alternative has to be Rayala-Telangana,” argued Mr Reddy even as he said that projects such as AVRHNSS, constructed to utilise flood waters, would get water only when the Chief Minister of Telangana and Anantapur districts was one. He also said that he had spoken to all the Congress MLAs and the TDP legislators from Anantapur district and vouched that they were all supportive of the alternative including a few legislators of the Kurnool district too.
Mr Reddy said he had spoken to the Antony Committee along with Gooty Congress MLA Madhusudhan Gupta and MLC Tippeswamy regarding the possibility of Rayala-Telangana and said that he was optimistic the proposal would be considered by the Congress high command.
When asked if he had consulted TRS leaders in this regard, he claimed that the TRS leaders were the ones who brought up the proposal but were backtracking for reasons best known to them.
