Decision to form panel of officials a step backward, says YSRC on Revanth-Naidu meet

Expresses concern over reports of Telangana demanding a share in AP ports and Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam properties

Hyderabad: The YSR Congress Party has aired concerns over delays in resolution of issues between Telugu States after Saturday’s meeting between Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu, saying that the decision to form a committee of officials was a step backward.

In a statement issued by former Minister Perni Nani and former MLA Gadikota Srikanth Reddy, the party said the committee would be a time-consuming approach.

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Stating that both State governments were already aware of the disputes between the States, unresolved issues and cases pending in the courts, they said the Centre had previously constituted the Sheila Bedi Committee, led by a senior officer, to implement the provisions of the Partition Act passed by Parliament.

“The Sheila Bedi Committee made several recommendations regarding property disputes in the undivided State. Over the past decade, these recommendations have been discussed in several stages. However, some recommendations were not accepted and the recommendations which were accepted were not implemented by the Telangana government. We believe that forming a new committee will set the discussions back to the starting point,” Nani and Srikanth Reddy said.

Pointing out that discussions on divided issues by the Chief Secretaries and officials of both States had gained momentum under the auspices of the Union Home Ministry after assurances from former AP Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy, they said forming a new committee without focusing on advancing these discussions would only result in further delays.

“Furthermore, this committee is being formed independently, without the involvement  of the Central government.  Forming a committee without the Union government’s participation raises many questions, given that Parliament enacted the Bifurcation Act and it is the Centre that must implement it,” they said.

Also alleging that Saturday’s meeting did not focus enough on resolving issues over electricity dues between the two States, they said Andhra Pradesh was also facing severe injustice, especially concerning the management of water projects. Accusing Telangana of releasing water from the left canal of Srisailam for electricity generation at will, even as the Rayalaseema region struggles, the YSRCP leaders said it was unjust that the meeting concluded without addressing this issue and attempting an immediate resolution.

They also said that during the YSRCP government’s tenure, the AP government had taken over the part of Nagarjuna Sagar Kudikalva and the spillway in AP territory.  “Despite assurances from the Union Home Department that this issue would be resolved, restraint has been observed. In the meeting of the Chief Ministers, there are no records of Chandrababu’s strong focus on this issue, raising questions about the state government’s sincerity in resolving divided problems,” they said, also expressing concern over reports of Telangana demanding a share in AP ports and Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam properties.

“The absence of any announcement from the AP government, including statements from mMinisters or officials, is increasing public suspicion,” they said.