TDP demands development of new city at par with Hyderabad

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu Wednesday urged the centre to develop a city at par with Hyderabad as the capital of Andhra Pradesh following the formation of separate Telangana state.

He said the centre should allocate Rs.2 lakh to Rs.4 lakh crore to develop a new city. He demanded the government to earmark the funds in the bill it plans to table in parliament for formation of Telangana state.

Naidu wants the capital of the other state to have infrastructure like Hyderabad. The former chief minister, during whose rule (1995-2004) Hyderabad developed rapidly, pointed out that the city has educational institutions, international airport, convention centres, IT companies, research organization and central public sector undertakings.

In his first reaction to the Congress party's decision to carve out separate state, the former chief minister said it doesn't matter if there are two states but the Telugu-speaking people should remain united.

Naidu recalled that TDP had sent a letter to the centre in 2008 in favour of the demand for separate Telangana state.

He accused Congress of politicizing the issue but refused to comment further, saying he would talk politics on another occasion.

The TDP chief parried all questions about his party's future in Telangana and the protests in Rayalaseema and Andhra regions against the Congress party's decision.

Naidu appealed to the centre to do justice to Telugu people in both the states. He said the Congress party's statement lacked clarity. He demanded that in the distribution of water and other resources, justice should be done to both the states.