Kiran peeks into history over Telangana
HYDERABAD: Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Wednesday made a forceful plea against bifurcation of the State, asserting that it will only end up harming people of all the regions.
Delivering his much-awaited speech on the floor of the House, he rued, 'It is very unfortunate that I am the Chief Minister at this juncture. I never thought I had to choose between the Congress high command and a united Andhra Pradesh. I never expected that this day will come in my life.'
He dug deep into history to trace the roots of the State and in the process, ruffled the feathers of TRS legislators, who sought to disrupt his speech, terming it unconstitutional. A combative Kiran shot back at them, 'This is an emotional issue. Do not disturb. Why are you getting unnerved in the face of truth?'
However, the legislators rushed to the Speaker's podium demanding clarification on whether Kiran was speaking in his individual capacity or as the Chief Minister.
Panchayat Raj Minister Jana Reddy too objected to Kiran's speech and voiced the same demand. He said they wouldn't be a party to it if Kiran was speaking as Leader of the House. It was left to Finance Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy to clarify that Kiran was in the House as CM.
In his lengthy speech ' which will be resumed Thursday ' Kiran quoted liberally from the speeches of former prime minister Indira Gandhi as well as Telangana MPs of the 1950s to make a point that Congress leaders had been in favour of unity of Telugus all along.
'All the Congress leaders stood for a linguistic state. AICC meetings favoured a united AP right from 1908 to 1952. Later, Jawaharlal Nehru announced a united AP,' Kiran recalled.
He also referred to the first States Reorganisation Commission and pinpointed its opinions on AP. On Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Kiran, while admitting that she made him the CM, said she had favoured a second SRC in 2004 when the NDA was in power.
News Posted: 23 January, 2014
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