TDP faults Jagan for giving away buildings in Hyderabad to Telangana State

Amaravati: Opposition TDP members took strong exception to the decision of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy transferring the assets of AP to Telangana. During the question hour in Assembly on Thursday, they said that the AP Chief Minister's decision looked like a gift to Telangana Chief Minister in lieu of his support before election.

TDP member Anagani Satyaprasad said that Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy had hurt the feelings of Andhra people by handing over assets of AP to Telangana. He said that Jagan transferred the assets just one month after he assumed office as CM.

He recalled that former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu had taken steps to merge the seven mandals of Telangana into AP for Polavaram project. He said that it was the difference between the two leaders. He wondered as to how Jagan took decision though several issues of the AP Reorganisation Act were yet to be resolved. "Assets worth nearly Rs 3 lakh crore were still located in Hyderabad which should be transferred to Andhra Pradesh as per the AP Reorganisation Act. But Jagan did not take any steps in this regard. The AP Chief Minister's plans are more useful to Telangana than the state," he said.

Another TDP member Maddala Giridhara Rao said that the Chief Minister did not even discuss the asset transfer issue with his Cabinet colleagues. "The AP Chief Minister did not ask Telangana to pay Rs 6,000 crore electricity dues. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao stated in the past that he wanted to give a gift to AP. We don't know what kind of gift was given. But AP CM has given a gift to Telangana Chief Minister by transferring assets as a gratitude for his help in the recent election," he said.

Objecting to their comments, finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy said that the assets originally belong to Telangana and should be handed over in 2024 as per the Reorganisation Act. He alleged that the TDP government hurriedly left Hyderabad without completing the process of bifurcation of assets.

He also said the TDP government had not paid at least taxes and maintenance charges to the buildings.

Revenue minister Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose said that the Chief Ministers of AP and Telangana started discussions to solve the issues between the two states. He hoped that all the issues would be settled soon and the interests of the state would be protected.