Andhra Pradesh chief minister K Rosaiah has no personal view on the bifurcation of his state.
Unlike his predecessor YS Rajasekhara Reddy, who took a tough line against separate Telangana, Andhra Pradesh chief minister K Rosaiah has no personal view on the bifurcation of his state and would like the Centre to find a lasting solution not not a "temporary truce".
He says he will accept whatever the Central government decides and that it is the responsibility of the Central government to find a lasting solution to the current political turmoil in the state.
77-year-old Konijeti Rosaiah has been moving from crisis to crisis ever since he assumed chief ministership of Andhra Pradesh after Reddy was killed in a helicopter crash on September two last year.
First it was the campaign launched by the late chief minister's son Jagan Mohan Reddy for becoming chief minister, then the handling of one of the worst floods and now now the Telangana crisis.
"I have no no personal view on the bifurcation issue. I have no no personal opinion. As long as I am holding the post of chief ministyer in the state, I do not not have any personal views. My personal view is not not at all an issue in this matter," the low-profile vetaran Congress said in an interview today.
Rosaiah, who was finance minister in Reddy's Cabinet, incidentially headed a Committee to seek views on separate Telangana when the late chief minister was dead set against splitting the state.
Reddy, who had emerged as a powerful regional chieftain in the Congress party, had seen to it that virtually there was no no forward movement on the campaign by TRS for separate Telangana that its chief K Chandrasekhara Rao quit the UPA in 2006 and intensified his campaign.
The issue has now now come to centre stage after the fast-unto-death undertaken by Rao in November following which the Centre first announced that steps would be initiated for the creation of Telangana and retracted a week later that put the issue on the back burner.
An all-party conference of political parties from Andhra Pradesh met in Delhi last week after the Centre is understood to be considering setting up a mechanism to carry forward the talks.
The chief minister appealed to the national political parties to “think about it (the current turmoil) and do something” to help the state continue with the development process.
“An agitation had built up (over the demand for and against bifurcation of the state) and some destruction had also happened. Now, a temporary truce will not help. The situation may resurface. Even if it requires time, they (Government of India) will have to give us an ever-lasting solution,” he said.
Asked what could be the logical solution to the current imbroglio, Rosaiah said: “It is not in our hands. This is an issue which has to be examined from different angles by the Government of India.
"Sitting here, there is no occasion for us to say yes or no. If it is an issue that could be decided by me or someone else here, we can do it according to our thoughts. But this is an issue that is to be looked into by the Centre and they will have to give us an ever-lasting solution.”
The chief minister appealed to all political parties, including the Congress, to leave the issue to the Centre.
“Not just as the chief minister but more particularly as a citizen of Andhra Pradesh, my earnest appeal to all political parties is to please leave the issue to be sorted out at Delhi. Willingly or unwillingly, let us not become tools for hampering the development of the state,” he said.
Asked how was he reading the signals emanating from New Delhi that Telangana state could be a reality in the next 12 to 18 months, Rosaiah remarked, “One, I have not understood any signals. Two, I am not opposed to anything that the Government of India finally does. I will abide faithfully and try to co-operate with the Government of India."
Rosaiah said his main concern was about the state and its development. "Whatever the Centre does should contribute to it (development). Any decision they take will be acceptable to me.”
Asked about the prevailing “hostile” atmosphere between the people of Telangana and non-Telangana regions and the growing acrimony between them, the chief minister observed “Whatever judgement the Centre gives on the issue any day, we all should abide by it.
"This is my appeal and approach also. In the meantime, difference of opinion among the people of different regions of the state is not desirable. We all should narrow down our differences and work as one.
"If the differences persist, it will lead to situations where public life is paralysed and also unwittingly lead to destruction. Above all, it will hamper progress (of the state).”
On the demand for conducting a referendum on the state bifurcation issue, the chief minister maintained that it was not in the state government’s purview.
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