KCR, Naidu should sort out issues

Blaming the State Governments of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for the unprecedented incident of police force coming to blows on the river water dispute issue, YSR Congress has said the knee jerk reaction of both Chief Ministers going to Governor for arbitration is sending wrong signals.

“Instead of sorting out the issue between them, the two Chief Ministers are going to Raj Bhavan for arbitration which is against the spirit of parliamentary democracy. The elected representatives going to a person who is nominated by the Centre is not in good taste and TDP which is known for its strong opposition to the institution of Governor, being a party seeking mediation is ironic,” party senior leader Dr MV Mysoora Reddy told reporters in Hyderabad on Saturday.

Whipping up regional passions and police force coming to blows is a condemnable and the issue could be sorted out at the level of Chief Ministers, Ministers or officials of both states in a cordial atmosphere but carrying the tussle to Raj Bhavan is objectionable as it tantamount to Governor’s rule by default, he said.

“We are not against the institution of Governor, it was TDP which has time and again voiced its opposition to Governors. The two Chief Ministers rushing to Raj Bhavan a day after the police clash seems to be a cover up of failures on other issues,” he said.

The clash of police could be the provocation by the respective States and the Governments should take full responsibility for the incident. The clash is not a small incident which can be ignored but it is a tip of the iceberg that could affect bilateral ties.

Instead of whipping local passions both Chief Ministers should create a cordial atmosphere and should have a dialogue to send the right message to the people instead of approaching the Governor to arbitrate. When the State is divided, problems are bound to come up. They should be amicably resolved between the elected representatives, Chief Ministers, and not by a nominated person.

They could have preempted the unsavoury incident had they talked about it earlier. We have seen the arson and violence in the Cauvery water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka on one hand and the agreement between various States on the sharing Godavari river waters on the other.

As water level was plenty both States have drawn water from the reservoir and it is time sort out the issue across the table by persons who have the people’s mandate, he said.