The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) and Telangana Rasthra Samithi (TRS) have opposed the proposal to make Hyderabad the common capital for Telangana and Seemandhra for a period of 10 years. The two parties also opposed administrative powers to the Governor as it would undermine the authority of the Telangana Government.

Continuing the discussion on the draft Andhra Pradesh Re-Organisation Bill in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, MIM legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi said the Centre should clearly spell out the name of the new capital for the residual State of Seemandhra when the Bill is introduced in Parliament.

Citing the example of Chandigarh, he said a common capital would ultimately become a permanent capital, giving all powers on the State capital to the police and Governor. “Seemandhra region should have a separate High Court. It can be temporarily housed in Hyderabad. But it should be shifted soon to that State,” he said.

TRS legislator K. T. Rama Rao too felt that the timeframe for common capital should be reduced to three years and not 10 years as mentioned in the draft. He said the region had been neglected on all fronts, including education, during the six decades of a united Andhra Pradesh.

Row over remarks A remark made by Rama Rao on the statues of stalwarts of Andhra Pradesh sparked a row, punctuating his speech. “The Seemandhra leaders failed to react when 1,000 students committed suicide over the bifurcation issue but were very sad when a few earthen statues were destroyed,” he said.

(He was referring to the statues of Telugu personalities erected during the regime of former Chief Minister N. T. Rama Rao on the Tank Bund. The supporters of Telangana argued that the region got a raw deal on this count too. Thousands of activists could make it to the Tank Bund during the Million March a few years ago despite heavy police presence and targeted statues of Seemandhra personalities.)

This remark triggered vociferous protests from Seemandhra legislators in Congress and Telugu Desam. They demanded an apology from the TRS leader. The latter, however, refused to give in.

Deadline nears The House was adjourned after a few more leaders expressed their views on the Bill. The Presidential deadline for the House to send its views is January 23. The State Government, however, wants more time as a majority of the members, including Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and Opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu, have yet to air their views.

kurmanath.kanchi@thehindu.co.in

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