His appeal came against the backdrop of tension between the two Telugu states on various issues.
“We can choose our friends but can’t choose our neighbours. Our neighbours are going to stay where they are. We may like it or may not like it but it is for us to decide whether to live with our neighbours in peace and harmony or in perpetual tension,” he said while speaking at the launch of book “Uniki” written by Maharashtra Governor Vidyasagar Rao.
“My appeal to all concerned is to work in close harmony because we belong to India,” he said, adding it was also important given the significance of Hyderabad.
“Hyderabad is not just state headquarters or capital city. It is something more,” Mukherjee said, pointing out that as cyber city or Hitec city, it developed the core competence of modern-day civilization – information technology.
“It has emerged as an educational hub to the benefit of only people of this region or Telangana or Andhra Pradesh but to the benefit of whole of India,” he added.
“It (Hyderabad) has its national importance. Always there will be problems particularly when a new entity is carved out, it raises many problems,” the president said.
Mukherjee also congratulated Vidyasagar Rao for bringing out this useful compilation of writings and reflections on his life and experiences. He stated that the title, which means existence, evokes a philosophical view of the issues and events that have been written about in this book.
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, who released the book, presented first copy to the President.
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya and Congress leader in Telangana assembly K. Jana Reddy also spoke.
–IANS