In a reference to the alleged tapping of phones of Andhra Pradesh Government functionaries by the Telangana Government, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said it was painful that one State Government was spying on another, but the powers conferred on the Governor to intercede in such matters have resulted in no action at all.
Speaking during the Assembly debate on special category status on Tuesday, Mr. Naidu cited Section 8 of the AP Reorganisation Act, which vests the Governor with powers to oversee law and order matters.
He said that the Governor had a special responsibility for the security of life, liberty and property of people residing in the common capital as also internal security and security of vital installations and management of government buildings. “But in reality what is happening is that there has been no action so far,” he added.
Mr. Naidu repeatedly asserted that he was afraid of none as he had done no wrong and that justice was on his side.
Stating that the TDP Government would fight for the State’s rights, he said whenever any dispute arose between the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments, it was for the Centre to intervene and sort it out. Referring to the sacking of over 1,200 AP-native employees of power utilities, he said that the Telangana Government was refusing to accept either the Central Government’s or High Court’s direction on the matter.
At the same time, Mr. Naidu expressed willingness to resolve the contentious issues between the States through a dialogue. He urged Telangana to prefer a dialogue rather than adopt a confrontationist attitude as it was not in mutual interest. "This can be seen from the fact that the Karnataka Government is going ahead with construction of projects on the Krishna river and such constructions deny water to both lower riparian States," he said.
Though his Government had been repeatedly seeking a discussion to resolve the differences between the two States, there was no response from Telangana 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 said he had never sought to deny Telangana the benefits it inherited from bifurcation of the erstwhile state, but only wanted the Centre's help in recouping the losses incurred by Andhra Pradesh.
