Andhra ministers, MLAs meet Governor to oppose bifurcation

New Delhi: A delegation comprising Andhra Pradesh ministers and MLAs opposed to the bifurcation on Friday met state Governor ESL Narasimhan, who has been holding parleys with leaders over Telangana issue in the national capital. “We met the Governor making a representation for united Andhra,” said Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Minister for Infrastructure and Investments and Ports told PTI. [caption id=“attachment_1194323” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Union HRD Minister MM Pallam Raju. AFP[/caption] The Governor has been camping in Delhi since early this week amid hectic political activity over division of Andhra Pradesh. He has been holding deliberations with a host of leaders including the Group of Ministers (GoM) which is looking into the Telangana issue. The ministers insisted on due constitutional procedures to be followed while bifurcating the state as it was done for Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand. Rao alleged that Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh were giving contradictory statements. “Sushil Kumar Shinde claims that the resolution over bifurcation will not come to the state legislature even as Digvijaya Singh says the resolution will be referred to the assembly,” he said. The minister said the democratic process demanded that the bill be referred to the state assembly. Meanwhile, the delegation also met Union Minister for Tourism Chiranjeevi at his residence and held discussions on the situation. According to Kurasala Kannababu, MLA from Kakinada rural, the delegation stressed that the Union Ministers from Seemandhra region must meet the Group of Ministers to emphasise that they would not compromise anything less than united Andhra. Union Minister for HRD MM Pallam Raju and MPs were also present during the meeting. PTI