In an embarassment to the UPA government, Union Minister Farooq Abdullah on Monday spoke against its decision to divide Andhra Pradesh and create Telangana, saying, the state should not be divided when its people do not want it.
“I think it (the issue of Telangana) has gone out of gear, terribly out of gear. You have seen 70 per cent, 80 per cent of people do no want division, yet a division is taking place...The people of the state do not want division. We should not divide,” he told reporters here as Parliament was adjourned once again over the issue.
When told that the Cabinet, of which he is a member, had approved the division of the state, the Minister of New and Renewable Energy said he did not attened that the meeting as he was away in Jammu for an event.
He said the demand for the separate state has been there since the time Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister but it was “handled and kept under cover“.
MPs supporting the creation of a separate Telangana state and those against it have been creating uproar in Parliament and stalling proceedings. The government has cleared the bill for the creation of Telangana.
Trinamool too opposes T-Bill
Trinamool Congress on Monday said it would oppose in Parliament the Telangana Bill seeking to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.
“We are for united India and our party will oppose the Telangana Bill in Parliament,” party spokesperson Derek O’Brien said.
Meanwhile, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu is expected to arrive here on Monday to meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to discuss among others the Telangana Bill.
Earlier last year, YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy met Ms. Banerjee to seek her support for a united Andhra Pradesh.
