Naidu meets President,, Rajnath, Sharad

New Delhi: TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday called on President Pranab Mukherjee to plead his case on the issue of Telangana. He submitted a memorandum and the President assured that he would examine the same.

The detailed memorandum pointed out that the Telangana Bill, and not Draft Bill, should be referred to the State Assembly. Citing the S R Bommai case, it was pointed out that federalism was a basic feature of the Constitution and it should be safeguarded.

Besides, Article 371-D and Article 371-E were introduced through Constitutional Amendment. Now, again, he said Constitutional Amendment was required for the same, to create Telangana.

The memorandum insisted on the need to build a consensus, not through force, but through a healthy discussion. It suggested holding of a meeting with the civil society members and JACs from both the regions, to build a consensus and evolve an amicable solution.

Primarily, Naidu impressed upon the President that the government had not followed the well-laid down procedure with regard to the formation of a new State.

The legal opinion tendered by Attorney-General G E Vahanvati that Article 371D needed to be amended before proceedings with the creation of Telangana was dumped, he said. Flagrant violation of the Constitution cannot be countenanced, he said. There was no resolution in the parent State.

The move is being pushed through purely with an eye on political gains, like seeking to make Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi the next Prime Minister, he pointed out.

Naidu said the purpose of his meeting with the President was to narrate to him the cruel politics being resorted to by the Congress, its opportunistic posturing in Andhra Pradesh and the defects in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2013.

The Bill did not have either the State of Aims and Objects or the Financial Memorandum. Earlier in the day, he met BJP President Rajnath Singh and Janata Dal (United) President Sharad Yadav. Naidu said that Rajnath Singh promised to ensure that justice would be done to both the regions of Telangana and Seemandhra regions.

After meeting Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav, Naidu said the duty of the government was to resolve problems and not create problems.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cleared the Bill, but Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy was opposing it. Similarly, Congress President Sonia Gandhi decided in favour of Telangana, but APCC President Botcha Satyanarayana was opposed to it. The Congress was only trying to fool the people, he said.

Naidu also hit out at Kiran Kumar Reddy who pitted himself against his own Cabinet Ministers from the Telangana region. He regretted that the opportunistic politics being played out by the Congress was demoralising the Telugu people.