Naidu admits pressuring Centre to merge seven Telangana mandals with Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu admitted he pressured the union government in 2014 to merge seven Telangana mandals with Andhra Pradesh. The remarks have revived political debate, with the BRS citing them as proof of a unilateral and politically driven decision

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has triggered a major political storm by openly admitting that he pressured the union government in 2014 to transfer seven mandals of Telangana to Andhra Pradesh soon after bifurcation. His admission has proved the long-standing accusations by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) that the move was unilateral, politically driven and carried out without consultation.

Just two days earlier, Naidu had projected himself as a statesman who never opposed Telangana’s irrigation projects, including Kaleshwaram, and instead strove for the development of both the Telugu States.

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Speaking during his visit to the Polavaram project site, ahead of his scheduled meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah later in the evening, Chandrababu Naidu said he forced the NDA government in 2014 to merge the seven mandals of the erstwhile Khammam district into Andhra Pradesh. While boasting about his efforts to complete the Polavaram project, he candidly admitted that he used his influence over then Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and M Venkaiah Naidu, as the project could not proceed without control over those areas.

“Without those seven mandals, Polavaram cannot be completed. Otherwise, we would have needed Telangana’s consent. So I insisted they be merged with Andhra Pradesh, or I would not take oath,” he claimed. He went further, boasting that for the first time in India’s history, the union government issued an ordinance and secured presidential approval even before Parliament convened after the elections.

This candid acknowledgement validates what the BRS (then TRS) had been alleging for nearly a decade, that the mandals were secretly taken under political pressure and not through any transparent or consultative process. Telangana leaders had long demanded their return, pointing out the constitutional impropriety of altering State boundaries without discussion or consultations.

Attempting to reshape his legacy, Naidu also claimed credit for ensuring daily drinking water supply in Telangana, which earlier received drinking water only once a week, and for transforming the city into a knowledge hub. “I developed Hyderabad for Telugus… created the best ecosystem… I am happy it has the highest per capita income and was declared the most liveable city today,” he said.