Founder president of the Lok Satta party and general secretary of the Foundation for Democratic Reforms (FDR) N. Jayaprakash Narayan has said he will support the demand for separate Rayalaseema state if it is for the betterment of the people of the region.
Speaking to The Hindu , he said ‘emotions’ should not rule the debate on the necessity for creation of a separate state of Rayalaseema and that ‘reason’ should prevail, with the people of the region deciding if they would get a better deal if a new state is carved.
“It (formation of a new state) shouldn’t be for meeting the end goal of somebody else to become a Chief Minister, the question is whether the people of Rayalaseema would stand to gain. If so, all should support it”, said Mr. Jayaprakash Narayana.
Twin demands
“My support for the formation of a new state was relative to the twin demands that the Union government agrees to reimburse the revenue deficit of the new state of Rayalaseema with ‘no ifs and buts’ and gives meaningful and longterm tax incentives for industries to come up in the Rayalaseema region,” he said.
He said in the current scenario in which the rationale of linguistic states held no sanctity, the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh shouldn’t be viewed from an emotional frame of mind but of that of a practical one aimed at the betterment of prospects to all.
However, he said people of Rayalaseema should also realise the fact that a separate state need not necessarily mean ‘more water’, as 'water' and 'statehood' were separate issues although they are fused together in the minds of people.
“It is wrong on the part of the Union government, whichever party be in power, to wash its hands off with regard to inter-State water disputes,” Mr Jayaprakash Narayana said adding that the Polavaram dam should be completed at the earliest and the water made use to cater to the genuine demands of the people of Rayalaseema.
He said the State government should leverage the complete benefit of the Anantapur district being close to Bangalore and create necessary infrastructure to better the prospects of industries treating the district as an alternative.
