A day after the Union Cabinet approved the bill for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh on the basis of the report of a Group of Ministers (GoM), Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, a key member of the panel, on Friday said that both the proposed States — Andhra Pradesh and Telangana — would have to come together in the spirit of reconciliation as surcharged atmosphere would not help anyone.
“We cannot have a perpetual state of confrontation. All political parties will have to show a spirit of dialogue and understanding. Surcharged atmosphere and provocative statements will only create fears and uncertainties among the people,” Mr. Ramesh observed while speaking exclusively to The Hindu as protests erupted in the coastal districts and the Rayalaseema region of the State.
He said that the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), which had been in the forefront of agitation for Telangana State, should realise that after being an agitator it has to behave as a “sober and responsible political party.”
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Mr. Ramesh maintained that the high-powered ministerial panel had made some path-breaking recommendations on issues that were “incredibly complex’’ and made its task difficult. “In the past 53 days, the GoM held eight formal meetings and 20 informal meetings. The panel met with all stakeholders — political parties from Andhra Pradesh barring TDP, which boycotted the GoM, and Union Ministers from the State — and held separate sessions with Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy. It received 18,000 suggestions by e-mail and a dozen ministries submitted background papers.