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Modi slams Centre for ‘delay’
Manas Dasgupta

Ahmedabad, July 30
Gujarat Chief Minister and chief of BJP parliamentary elections campaign committee Narendra Modi has welcomed the decision in favour of a separate Telangana state but lashed out at the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre for "delaying" a decision by nine years. He called the idea of sharing Hyderabad as the capital of both states "impractical".

Right after the Centre endorsed the decision for the creation of Telangana state, Modi wrote to the "dear brothers and sisters from all regions of Andhra Pradesh" reiterating his party's stand that the BJP favoured small states to ensure all-round growth of all regions.

In his letter, Modi said: "While we welcome any forward movement on the issue of Telangana, we yet again ask how real the intent of the Congress and the UPA government is this time around."

Posing some questions to the Congress leadership, Modi said: "Where is your homework in terms of creating consensus in your own party, within the government and within all political parties on the issue of Telangana when you have been speaking in so many divergent voices?"

Modi said capital cities become shared capitals only by virtue of being on the border between two states, but “Hyderabad becomes a shared capital despite being located well within Telangana. Thus, this does not justify the logic of sharing a capital albeit for a short duration. This leaves scope for operational difficulties.”

“How practical is it for a state to have a capital that lies neither within its boundaries nor along its borders” he said.

“What constructive measures have you taken to prepare the minds of the people of Andhra Pradesh and Rayalseema to welcome this decision on Telangana? What assurances have you provided to them so as to assuage their anxieties and to take them on board? Where is your “political roadmap” for creating this consensus among the people?” he said.

“It is ironical that the Congress has sought to hide itself behind committees, reports and futile deliberations for the last nine years instead of courageously facing the people of Andhra Pradesh. Neither the Congress president nor the Congress vice-president has set foot into Andhra Pradesh in recent years, despite the fact that it sent the highest number of MPs for the Congress both in 2004 and 2009. Will the Congress leadership not apologise to the people of Andhra Pradesh for treating them like doormats?” he said.