Passage of Polavaram Bill is anti-constitutional and hasty decision of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, TPCC chief Ponnala Lakshmaiah has said.
Addressing the media at Gandhi Bhavan here on Monday, Ponnala sought to know why Prime Minister Narendra Modi was acting hastily against the interests of Telangana to please Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. While a large number of tribal unions are making a hue and cry on the issue and tribals in Khammam are against the bill, the Centre has approved in the first cabinet itself, he bemoaned. He has alleged that at the behest of Chandrababu Naidu, the BJP Government exerted pressure on the President to issue the Polavaram Ordinance. Though two other riparian States — Chattisgarh and Odisha — are also opposing Polavaram Bill, the Centre preferred to ignore their voice, he alleged.
Accusing Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao of failing to prevent the bill despite having 12 MPs in Parliament, Ponnala attributed the present mess of Polavaram bill to the adamant attitude of the TRS. The entire Telangana State is fighting against the bill, which is undemocratically transferring seven mandals of Khammam district to Andhra Pradesh State, he said. The TRS, which failed to lead an all-party delegation to Delhi, is behaving in an unethical manner and maintaining double standards on the Polavaram issue, he said.
There is a demand to withdraw the bill from the people, political parties and adivasis and tribals of Telangana, he said. The Congress leader also expressed concern that technical problems will crop up if existing design was not changed. Before taking a hasty decision of passing the bill amid pandemonium and ruckus, the government failed to discuss the issue with either AP or Telangana or Odisha and Chattisgarh, he lamented.
Lakshmaiah found fault with KCR for not responding on the issue when his AP counterpart is lobbying at Delhi. It is wrong to put the Congress in a fix when the TRS leadership has failing to prevent the bill, he observed. Due to gross inefficiency, KCR is resorting to mudslinging activity against the Congress, which delivered Telangana State at its peril, he maintained. The Telangana CM should abstain from making politics and exert pressure on the Centre, he said. Lakshmaiah also asked KCR as to why he failed to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Pranab Mukherjee or the Leader of the Opposition to garner support against the passage of the bill. KCR, who failed to meet Modi during his Delhi trip, should stop politicizing the issue and instead focus on problems related to people. (NSS)
