Jagan slams Centre for hurrying through hurdles

Hyderabad, December 3: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said, the fast paced developments in Delhi indicate that the Congress is hurrying through division process and does not wanted the Krishna water dispute to come in way of the bifurcation.

'After announcing the formation of Telangana in 2009 on December 9, which also happens to be Sonia Gandhi's birthday, in 2010 an interim order on the Krishna water sharing is issued and the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal gives its verdict in 2013 as Congress does not want the water dispute to come in the way of the division, 'he told reporters here on Tuesday.

They are wading through the process at a break-neck speed, may be to sweep everything under the carpet and make way clear for another announcement on December 9 this year. Clearing Krishna water sharing disputes in a hurry is an indication that the Congress wants to go ahead with their agenda of dividing the state, come what may, he said.

Tracing the history of Tribunals and water disputes, he said, Bachawat Award was set in 1973 with a 40 year term. Twenty four years after it started working, Karnataka has moved the court about the utilisation of surplus waters by Andhra Pradesh.

In the year 2000 when HD Deve Gowda was Prime Minister and N Chandrababu Naidu was Chief Minister of the State, Supreme Court has given a judgment pronouncing that the lower riparian state does not have any right other than the allocated share, which was a blow to the State.

The then Chief Minister N Chandababu Naidu did not move, he did not go for an appeal but allowed things to just happen. Should we understand that he has appointed weak lawyers by design or should we think that he has no role to play in the process, even to protest?

YSR, who succeeded Naidu, understood the gravity of the situation and before the next (Brijesh Kumar) Tribunal gives its ruling, he wanted to build as many irrigation projects as possible on the available waters of Krishna River and started Jalayagnam.

Karnataka Government has approached the new Tribunal to direct the Andhra Pradesh to stop the new projects as well. What YSR has done was in the interest of the State. Chandrababu Naidu is solely responsible for the depriving the State of its rightful share of water right from 1997.

He failed to build a single project on the Krishna River but he is blaming YSR who died four years back. While the Tribunal was still in session, there were two Chief Ministers, K Roshiah and N Kiran Kumar Reddy. They could have given a better version.

Naidu does not question them nor does he question Sonia Gandhi as to why was the River Water Disputes issue was hurried through but tries to blame YSR. It was grossly Naidu's mistake and inefficiency that gave an edge to the upper riparian state of Karnataka which prospered while he was the Chief Minister of the State, the Kadapa MP said.

Political system has degenerated to such a level that the Congress is single-mindedly going ahead with the division process and even closing down contentious issues in a supersonic speed unmindful of the consequences.

While the water sharing dispute is the most important issue, Congress has brought to the fore the Rayal Telangana issue which is meaningless and they have no right to split the region.

Instead, if they merge all 13 districts with Telangana and give it the name we will be very happy. They have no clue as to what they are doing and I have been meeting all national leaders and now appeal to all floor leaders in the Parliament to stop this injustice to Andhra Pradesh.

'It could be the turn of your state tomorrow. Only if a resolution is passed in the assembly by two-third majority and it is ratified by both houses of parliament with the same majority the state could be divided should be the norm. Otherwise, it will be an attack on democracy and Andhra Pradesh should not set a bad precedent,' he said.