Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Chief Ministers Revanth Reddy and N Chandrababu Naidu held a meeting to discuss and resolve bifurcation issues in the Telugu states on Saturday, July 6. The meeting revolved around various aspects of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.
In a two and a half an hour long meeting at Praja Bhavan, the chief ministers along with several senior Cabinet ministers from both states discussed issues which have been pending since formation of Telangana in June 2014.
The meeting was proposed by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and key National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner N Chandrababu Naidu. Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, who was once a part of the AP CM’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP), is known to share an amicable relationship with him.
Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and AP Revenue Minister Anagani Satyaprasad along with several other Cabinet leaders from both states addressed the media at 9 pm post the meeting.
Deputy CM Bhatti informed the media that two committees: one comprising three three senior officials along with the Chief Secretary from each state and a second with cabinet ministers would be constituted to address post bifurcation woes.
“The issues which can’t be resolved by the committee of officials will be referred to a committee of ministers,” said Bhatti. He added that both the Chief Ministers would get involved in case the Cabinet ministers were also unable to find a solution.
Both the state governments agreed to work together to ensure a reduction in cyber crimes and drug menace. AP Revenue minister Satyaprasad noted that the Andhra government already has a committee in place to address the drug menace and have accordingly briefed Home, Education and Transport ministers in the state.
However, several issues pertaining to the AP Reorganisation Act, especially concerning electricity and irrigation were not addressed in the press conference. When reporters tried asking questions related to it, the panel of senior politicians refused to comment and ended the meeting.