Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy reiterated at Chodavaram village in Visakhapatnam district on Friday that he would not change his stand against the proposed move to bifurcate the State.
He made the remarks while participating in the Rachhabanda programme at the village. The Chief Minister was quite categorical about his commitment to a ‘samaikhya’ (united) Andhra Pradesh.
“It is unfortunate that the Centre has deemed it fit to divide the State and I remain of the firm and considered view that it will be in the best interests of all regions in the State (Telangana as well as Seemandhra) if it remains united. Bifurcation will inflict irreparable loss on all the regions. In fact, Telangana will suffer greater losses. Therefore, I am pleading for the cause of a united State,” he explained.
He said that in the event of bifurcation, river water disputes would inevitably crop up and those disputes would not admit of any easy resolution. Past experience had shown that such disputes would remain stumbling blocks to the progress of a State. Integrated and balanced development of the State would be possible only if it remained united, he said.
The Chief Minister said he would present the same point of view to the group of ministers (GOM) constituted by the Union Government to take up bifurcation of the State on November 18, when he was scheduled to meet the group in New Delhi.