Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has expressed willingness to resolve the contentious issues between his Government and the Telangana State through a dialogue.
He reiterated his request to the Government of the neighbouring State to prefer dialogue rather than adopting a confrontationist attitude as it was not in the interests of the two Telugu-speaking States. "This can be seen from the fact that Karnataka Government is going ahead with construction of projects across Krishna and these constructions denied water to the two lower riparian States," he said.
Mr. Naidu, who made a statement in the Assembly on the Government's efforts to achieve special category status for AP, expressed concern over the neighbouring State trying to dictate terms to his Government. "The situation has gone to a stage where one State is trying to spy the activities of the other," he said in an indirect reference to the alleged telephone tapping incident.
Though his Government had been repeatedly seeking discussion to resolve the differences between the two States, there was no response from the neighbouring Government so far. "We can sort out the issues by holding discussions and can seek the Central Government's intervention if need be. There is no point in adopting a confrontationist attitude," he said.
The Chief Minister asserted that he never sought removal of the benefits that accrued to Telangana post bifurcation, but was only seeking the Centre's help in bridging the losses incurred by Andhra Pradesh post bifurcation.
