Amid demand for and against invocation of Section 8 of the AP Reorganisation Act, which empowers the Governor to assume law and order powers in the joint capital of Hyderabad, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao called on Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and conveyed in clear terms that he would be forced to go on a fast in New Delhi if the Section is invoked.
The meeting came a day after the Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi had given an opinion to the Governor, on a specific reference from the latter, on the procedure to be followed for implementation of the contentious Section 8. The substance of the AG’s opinion is that the draft notification the Governor intends to make would have to be sent to the Telangana Chief Minister for consideration by his Council of Ministers.
Simultaneously, the Union Government has advised the Governor to ensure consensus among both the governments to ensure that the issue does not get out of control. Implementation of Section 8 has become a contentious issue as the Telugu Desam government stepped up its demand for its invocation after the cash-for-vote scandal broke out in the last week of May.
The AG has said that the Governor, after taking into consideration the views of the Telangana government on the proposed notification, has the discretion to take his own decision. He could also direct the Telangana officers on his own.
The TDP’s case is that the Telangana government is illegally tapping the telephones of its functionaries in Hyderabad and thus endangering their liberty making it a fit case for invocation of Section 8. However, the Telangana government has contended that the TDP is taking shelter under Section 8 only to wriggle out of the cash-for-vote case.
Last week, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to direct the Governor to assume law and order powers in Hyderabad. It is immediately not clear if the meeting between Mr. Naidu and the Prime Minister prompted the Governor to seek opinion of the AG.
