Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy has assured the agitating APNGOs Association that the resolution on the separate Telangana State would be defeated by an overwhelming majority as and when it comes up for discussion in the Assembly.
The Chief Minister recalled AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh’s statement that the views of the Assembly on bifurcation would be sought twice – once in the form of a resolution and the other by way of a draft Bill -- and said the majority were in support of a united State. Mr. Singh, according to reports, made this statement after seeking clarifications from the Union Home Ministry.
Mr. Kiran Reddy held deliberations with the agitating APNGOs Association on Thursday and tried to convince them to call off their strike. After he expressed his willingness to support the employees’ cause for a united State, the APNGOs announced suspension of their strike till the commencement of the Assembly session.
The Chief Minister said he would write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister S. K. Shinde requesting the Centre to follow the constitutional procedure adopted at the time of the formation of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal in going ahead with its decision on bifurcation of the State. He was clear that the resolution would come before the Assembly and the views of the majority of MLAs would be taken on record and the majority had to be respected.
The same procedure was adopted during the merger of Hyderabad State with Andhra State in the past when the majority extended their support to the integration. The employees’ representatives requested the Chief Minister that they be given an opportunity to present their views before the Group of Ministers constituted by the Central government for which Mr. Kiran Reddy replied in the affirmative
He set the record straight by stating that the recent announcement on setting up of Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) in Hyderabad had nothing to do with Telangana or united AP, as claimed by some. The proposal was sent by the previous government headed by K. Rosaiah and the present government had followed it up with Union IT Secretary J. Satyanarayana who worked as Principal Secretary in the CMO earlier.
