Hyderabad, Oct 5 : Telugu Desam party chief N Chandrababu Naidu has said said the Congress should take responsibility for the current instability and uncertainty in Andhra Pradesh. “You are in power...you can't escape. The Congress should take responsibility for whatever is happening in the state,” Naidu said referring to growing unrest over the Telangana statehood issue.
He wondered why the Congress was dragging its feet on the vexatious issue when all parties had stated their views on it. “We have made our stand very clear many a time. Has not the Congress revived the state Legislative Council despite our objection? Has it not taken decisions on many other important issues though we opposed them,” he questioned. Alleging that the Congress was into a “match-fixing” deal with the separatist Telangana Rashtra Samiti to damage the TDP, Naidu said it was incorrect to blame others when it was for the former to take a decision on the statehood issue. Noting that the situation was “very sensitive” both in Telangana and Andhra-Rayalaseema regions of the state, the Leader of Opposition came down heavily on Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy for failing to take any effective action.
He strongly condemned the attack on buses, coming from Vijayawada towards Hyderabad, by Telangana supporters causing injuries to some passengers besides leaving them stranded on roads for hours.“The attack on hapless passengers who are in no way concerned with the decision-making process is not correct,” he added.
Referring to the severe power crisis gripping the state, particularly the agriculture sector, Naidu said the government should take responsibility if crops withered due to erratic power supply.
“The government should publish a white paper on the current power situation. Has the government taken any precautionary steps to overcome the power crisis when it had at least 45 days' advance notice about the indefinite general strike,” Naidu questioned.
He also criticised TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao and Telangana JAC leader M Kodandaram over their “inhuman” attitude in preventing essential supplies to people of the region in the name of general strike.
TDP politburo member Yanamala Ramakrishnudu sought to know what the government and the police were doing when innocent passengers were being attacked by unruly elements. “Some political parties are seeking to inflame passions among people of different regions of the state. Normal life is different and the struggle for a separate state is different. The situation is going out of hand only because of the Congress' dilly-dallying on the issue. The ruling party should be squarely blamed for the current situation in AP,” Ramakrishnudu added.
Meanwhile in Vijayawada, TDP Politburo member K Yerran Naidu asked the Centre to consult all political parties from Andhra Pradesh and settle the raging Telangana statehood issue as soon as possible.
The Union Government should take measures immediately to settle the Telangana issue by consulting all political parties from the state, Yerran Naidu said.
The State's Congress Government has “totally failed” to protect the people from anti-social elements who are attacking them in the name of ‘Sakalajanula Samme' (total strike) which has affected normal life in the region, he said. The agitators are obstructing the movement of buses from Andhra and Rayalseema regions to Telangana, particularly Hyderabad, the former Member of Parliament alleged.
Yerran Naidu advised TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao and other Telangana leaders to settle the long-pending statehood issue politically and not create trouble for the common man in the state. PTI
