Centre planning Rayala-Telangana – KCR

In an informal chat with reporters at Telangana Bhavan on Wednesday, KCR said he was privy to specific information from Government of India officials that the Centre was exploring the possibility of including Kurnool and Anantapur districts in Telangana region keeping in view the emerging political equations. According to the feedback given to the TRS chief, the Centre was keen to include Kurnool, Nandyal, Anantapur and Hindupur Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana region so that coastal Andhra and Rayala-Telangana both would have 21 Lok Sabha seats each and 147 Assembly seats each.

The current strength of the Andhra Pradesh state assembly is 294 seats. The development is presumed to be significant as MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who had called on KCR at his residence on Tuesday, has been repeatedly claiming that they were not averse to the idea of Rayala-Telangana, as it would give MIM encouraging space for political growth and keep BJP’s rise under check.

The TRS chief said they would not mind sharing Hyderabad as a joint capital for a few years. “We will not accept Telangana without Hyderabad. It is an integral part of the region. There is no compromise. Also, we are firm against any tag of Union Territory status for Hyderabad,” he said.

Meanwhile, Vijayawada Congress MP Lagadapati Rajagopal dismissed KCR’s statements as `wishful thinking’. “Nothing of that sort has ever come up for a discussion in Delhi,” he said. Senior Congress leader J C Diwakar Reddy however welcomed the speculative proposal. Responding to the development, minister T G Venkatesh renewed his demand for making Kurnool the second capital of Rayala-Telangana.

Earlier, KCR lashed out at Seemandhra leaders for staking claim over Hyderabad. He was addressing a gathering of non-teaching staff from the region at the party office. “No one can stop the formation of Telangana. These Seemandhra people must feel ashamed for taking credit for the city’s development. The erstwhile state of Hyderabad was already rich. These `beggars’ sweet-talked their way in the region and are now trying to lord over Telangana people because they are sitting on huge tracts of valuable land. We are smart enough to govern ourselves, ensure government jobs to our people and build our own irrigation projects. We need not be at their mercy anymore. There is no going back on the agitation,” he said.

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