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

Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu has admitted that he pressured the Central government to merge seven Telangana mandals under the Polavaram project into Andhra Pradesh before taking oath in 2014. His statement has reignited political tensions, with the BRS accusing the BJP-led Centre of acting at Naidu’s behest.

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has once again admitted that he had pressurised the Central government to merge seven mandals of Telangana into Andhra Pradesh.

“Before June 2, 2014, I got the seven mandals under Polavaram project to be merged with AP. I told the Central Government that I would take oath only after the merger of these mandals,” Naidu said at a press conference in Amaravati on Friday.

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This admission has again proved the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) argument that the merger of seven mandals into Andhra Pradesh was a politically motivated move. It has been a contentious issue between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments.

The latest assertion of Naidu about the mandal merger elicited a stinging criticism from former Minister T Harish Rao on Thursday. He charged that it was the BJP-led Central government, which merged seven mandals of Telangana into Andhra Pradesh at the instance of Naidu.

Countering Union Minister G Kishan Reddy’s statement in Rajya Sabha over merger of seven mandals, the BRS Deputy Floor Leader reminded that the Central Government had also issued an ordinance to this effect. The BRS president K Chandrashekhar Rao had opposed the move and had even called for a Telangana bandh as a mark of protest, he recalled.

During a press conference in Amaravathi, Chandrababu Naidu had even maintained that he was not against Telangana. He claimed that Telangana was his brainchild. “I will never think about any initiatives that could result in loss or injustice to Telangana,” Naidu stated.

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s statements had evoked strong criticism from different sections in the social media. Many pointed out that even after 12 years since bifurcation, Andhra Pradesh leaders continue their outburst over Telangana.

Many recalled how Chandrababu Naidu had initially supported Telangana in an all-party meeting on December 7, 2009 and had even signed the resolution on behalf of the Telugu Desam, but within three days he went back on his words, one X user noted.