Hyderabad, July 20: Expressing concern over the attempts of some people to inflame passions over the Babli project in Maharashtra, chief minister K Rosaiah today appealed to TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu to call off his agitation and return to Andhra Pradesh.
Referring to the threat by a leader in Visakhapatnam that Marathas in the state would be targeted if Maharashtra did not stop construction of illegal projects, Rosaiah said such a stand would put the lives of lakhs of Telugus living in Maharashtra in peril.
Speaking to reporters after a mini cabinet meeting, attended by about 10 ministers at the secretariat, the chief minister sought the cooperation of all parties in resolving the tangle at the earliest.
In an appeal to Chandrababu Naidu he said: “You influenced the Maharashtra government and the centre enough. Please return to AP.’’
Rosaiah expressed hope that the Telugu Desam party would join the all-party delegation to the prime minister on July 23. All opposition parties, except the Telugu Desam, had sent letters of acceptance to participate in the talks with the prime minister, he said.
“In a effort to protect the interests of the state and to assert `our rights’ I met Manmohan Singh on July 14 and sought an appointment with him for a meeting with an all-party delegation from the state. The prime minister immediately agreed and instructed his office to make arrangements in this regard,’’ Rosaiah explained.
The chief minister said he had conveyed the same on July 15 to the Telugu Desam president over telephone and requested him to put off his bus yatra. But the TD president had stated that he would visit Maharashtra come what may. “He has the freedom to go anywhere he likes. How can I stop him?’’ Rosaiah said.
After watching the disturbances on the border, he said, he had spoken to his Maharashtra counterpart Ashok Chavan and asked him to allow the TD team to visit Babli and to treat the TD president and other leaders with respect. But Chavan had told him that the people of his state too were agitated over the issue and if the TD team was allowed, it would lead to a law and order problem, Rosaiah said. Quoting the Maharashtra chief minister, Rosaiah said that since both of them were going to meet in Delhi on July 24, they could sit together and discuss the issue.
He regretted that the TD leaders were adamant and refused to take bail when the local magistrate offered it, and insisted that they be allowed to see the irrigation project on the Godavari at Babli.
–Agencies–