HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments restrained themselves from attacking each other over the cash-for-vote scam and alleged phone tapping on Sunday, the International Yoga Day.
Against this backdrop, Governor ESL Narasimhan, who offered prayers to Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala in the evening, said he had prayed to God to end hostilities between the two Telugu-speaking States soon.
“I hope the issues between AP and Telangana would be sorted out soon. I call upon people of both the States to exercise restraint. With the blessings of the Lord, I am sure all the issues will be resolved,” he said. However, he refused to comment further on the cash-for-vote scam or the alleged phone tapping issue.
In Hyderabad, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya appealed to the Chief Ministers of AP and TS, N Chandrababu Naidu and K Chandrasekhar Rao respectively, to bury the hatchet.
“The two CMs, instead of fighting like a cat and dog, should concentrate on developing their respective States. Otherwise, the Centre will soon step in and interfere to set right the situation,” he warned.
Interestingly, even though the TDP and TRS observed temporary ceasefire, fireworks and high-voltage dialogues were hurled from different quarters.
Telangana Congress leaders such as TPCC working president Bhatti Vikramarka and former MP Ponnam Prabhakar fired choicest of salvos at the TDP and TRS over the cash-for-vote scam.
“The issue is not between two States, but between two families. It is a fight between the families of KCR and Naidu. Not only Naidu but also KCR lured MLAs of other parties by bribing them. Hence, both of them should be brought to book,” Bhatti Vikramarka demanded.
The TPCC working chief further disclosed that the Telangana Congress leaders would soon submit a representation to President Pranab Mukherjee over the issue, seeking the Centre’s intervention.
Ponnam Prabhakar, after having darshan of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, took potshots at Governor ESL Narasimhan for the current hostile atmosphere between the two Telugu-speaking States.
