Hyderabad: Telangana Congress MPs on Wednesday hit back strongly at remarks made by a TDP leader in the Lok Sabha questioning the passage of the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act, accusing the party of attempting to reopen a settled issue and provoke sentiments in the two Telugu states.MPs Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy and Gaddam Vamsi Krishna condemned the comments made by TDP MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayulu and demanded that the party clarify whether it intended to stir fresh tensions between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Krishna Devarayulu, MP from Narasaraopet in Andhra Pradesh and parliamentary party leader of the TDP, said on Tuesday during a debate on the no-confidence motion against speaker Om Birla that Feb 14, 2014, was a “dark and black day” and that the House should hold a special discussion on how the AP State Reorganisation Bill was passed. Responding sharply, the Telangana Congress MPs said the Reorganisation Bill was legitimately passed in Parliament and noted that Krishna Devarayulu was not even a member of the House at the time. They said both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were maintaining cordial relations and cautioned against statements that could disturb the prevailing harmony between the two states. Kiran Reddy alleged that the TDP leader was making such remarks only to please the BJP-led govt at the Centre and warned against attempts to provoke the sentiments of people in the two Telugu-speaking states. He also pointed out that TDP national president N Chandrababu Naidu had earlier written a letter supporting the formation of Telangana and had described the Andhra and Telangana regions as his “two eyes” during the peak of the statehood movement in the undivided state. Vamsi Krishna questioned the demand for a discussion on a Bill passed over a decade ago with the support of almost all political parties. He further demanded that the Lok Sabha instead discuss the Epstein files issue in connection with present Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and minister Nara Lokesh allegedly moving closely with Bill Gates, who was accused in the Epstein files case.
