Political leaders have openly criticised Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Prashant Bhushan’s statement in Hyderabad on Saturday favouring bifurcation of the State on the ground of decentralisation of power in smaller states.
In a scathing attack, former MLA and YSR Congress leader Adusumilli Jayaprakash said, “The ‘smaller state’ concept appears to have become a fancy word. Let them first define the concept of a smaller state and come out with a clear understanding on the geographical and demographic elements of a smaller state.”
The veteran leader pointed out that the AAP leader had not done his homework properly and just played to the gallery.
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“In the event of bifurcation, Telangana would be the 11 largest state in India. So, where is the concept of decentralisation of power in a smaller state coming in?” he questioned.
Mr. Jayaprakash further added that if decentralisation of power and better administration were linked to smaller states, then there were a number of smaller states in the North East.
“But, they are far from being conflict-free states,” he added.
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Taking a cue from Mr. Jayaprakash, former PCC secretary and Samaikyandhra leader K. Sivaji pointed out that the AAP was yet to establish itself as a potent political force and it did not have a clear understanding of the sentiments of the people from various regions of Andhra Pradesh.
Both Mr. Jayaprakash and Mr. Sivaji were of the opinion that the AAP should first concentrate on the election promises it had made.
They went a step ahead and called the AAP a stooge of the Congress.
‘A.P. different’Countering their charges, AAP’s preparatory committee member in Krishna district G. Phani Raju said the party favoured smaller states on the basis of decentralisation of power. But, at the same time, he was fast to add that in the case of Andhra Pradesh, things were a bit different.
“The bifurcation process is not being worked out scientifically,” he said.