Andhra, Telangana CMs agree to thrash out contentious issues

The chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Sunday agreed to solve the contentious issues between the two states through talks and mutual cooperation.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his Telangana counterpart K. Chandrasekhar Rao decided to entrust the issue of bifurcation of employees to the chief secretaries of the two states.

Accompanied by senior officials, they held talks for nearly two hours at Raj Bhavan to iron out their differences on various issues between the two states.

E.S.L. Narasimhan, who is governor of both the states, was present for the first half an hour. Later the chief ministers had detailed discussions.

It was the first formal meeting between the two to discuss the issues arising out of the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh since they formed governments in June. It was held at the initiative of the governor.

The meeting between Naidu and his one time friend in Telugu Desam Party (TDP) was held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere.

Terming it as a good beginning, Rao said the talks were fruitful. "If necessary we will meet two to three times to sort out the issues," said Rao, who is also chief of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

The Telangana chief minister told reporters that the chief secretaries would hold talks to sort out problems related to bifurcation of employees. He said bifurcation of majority of 45,000 employees was already completed and the two officials would address the problem with regard to remaining few hundred employees.

KCR, as the TRS chief is popularly known, said the meeting decided to address other issues including the one related to institutions located in Hyderabad as per the agreed guidelines.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary I.Y.R. Kishna Rao, his Telangana counterpart Rajiv Sharma, Andhra assembly Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao, his Telangana counterpart Madhusudhan Chary and some other officials also attended the meeting, official sources said.

Before the meeting, Naidu said they would discuss issues relating to the bifurcation of employees in the secretariat and directorates in Hyderabad.

The two states are locked in a bitter tussle over several issues including bifurcation of employees, sharing of electricity and water and admissions in professional colleges.