Hyderabad, July 28: Chief Minister K Rosaiah on Tuesday threw veiled barbs at opposition leader and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu over his speaking to media persons after the all-party delegation met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday.
Talking to media persons at the Secretariat, Mr Rosaiah sarcastically commented that he was too ‘naive’ to assume that the Prime Minister would be able to solve any problem within a day while the ‘experienced and intelligent’ Chandrababu Naidu should know how long it takes to solve issues which come before the government, particularly of the magnitude of inter-state water sharing disputes.
Mr Rosaiah also said that Mr Naidu should not have accused Mr Manmohan Singh of not studying the Babli issue after giving an appointment for the all-party delegations.
Back in the state after a three-day visit to the National Capital, Mr Rosaiah revealed that the all-party delegation was assured by the Prime Minister that he would study the Babli issue thoroughly and see to it that justice is done to the people of the state.
The Chief Minister also revealed that the Prime Minister had told the delegations that steps to solve the issue would begin at the earliest, in response to Mr Naidu’s insistence of a deadline for settlement of the issue.
Mr Rosaiah told reporters that Mr Manmohan Singh was happy with the suggestions offered by the members of the delegation to formulate a mechanism to find a permanent solution to water-sharing disputes.
He added that the all-party delegation had also enlightened the Prime Minister of the water-sharing dispute between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and the illegal constructions across river Krishna by the neighbouring state’s government.
Mr Rosaiah also referred to Mr Naidu’s ‘old man’ comments by saying that he was too busy to respond to disrespectful statements.
He said that the people of the state were ‘observing’ the tasteless comments and would teach Mr Naidu a lesson at an appropriate tiem.
The Chief Minister also said that he was in favour of settling the Babli issue through negotiations with his Maharashtra counterpart.
——INN