After nearly a decade, the chief ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh met in Hyderabad on Saturday to discuss and resolve issues that had lingered between the two states since Andhra Pradesh’s split in June 2014.
According to sources, the bureaucrats who accompanied Revanth and Naidu presented PowerPoint presentations outlining their demands and expectations from one another.
At Jyotirao Phule Praja Bhavan in Begumpet, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and his Andhra counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu convened in the evening. Senior ministers D Sridhar Babu and Ponnam Prabhakar were with Reddy, along with his deputy Bhatti Vikramarka. Ministers K Durgesh, Satya Kumar Yadav, and B C Janardhan accompanied Naidy.
Chief Secretaries and other IAS officers accompanied both, and they presented PowerPoint presentations outlining their expectations and demands from one another.
The purpose of the meeting, according to Telangana CMO sources, was to foster goodwill between the two states. Each party let the other know what they wanted to talk about and gave a plan for getting there. They also talked about matters like the distribution of water between the Godavari and Krishna rivers, which call for the Center’s involvement.
The official stated, “This meeting is to initiate the process of long discussions and negotiations,” and that the major topic of discussion was creating a forum and a channel for both countries to discuss concerns amicably.
The two chief ministers greeted each other like old friends and gave each other hugs before taking a seat at the bargaining table, according to officials in attendance.
“If a state, like Andhra Pradesh or Telanagna, concedes on any issue, the state’s interest is immediately criticized as having been disregarded.” For this reason, the talks between Jagan, the former chief minister of Andhra, and KCR, the former chief minister of Telangana, could not proceed. The resolution of the difficulties, which involves sharing funds, properties, and assets, would require giving up some things, which opponents and the public in both states may view as a sellout, an official stated.
Both KCR, who ruled from 2014 to 2023, and Naidu, who served his first term from 2014 to 2019, were viewed as antagonistic toward one another and were unable to convene any talks to settle the differences.
KCR greeted Jagan warmly when he surged to office in 2019, and officials from the two states met multiple times, but the impasse persisted since neither would give any ground.
In a phone conversation congratulating Naidu on his overwhelming victory in the most recent elections, Revanth extended a hand of friendship and suggested that the two states work amicably to settle outstanding issues pertaining to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. Naidu gave a positive response and on July 2nd, suggested in a letter that they meet in Hyderabad on July 6th.
There are currently at least 14 outstanding difficulties between the two states, such as splitting bank deposits and cash balances, splitting up 91 institutions, and paying out electricity dues owed by both states to one another. The efficient distribution of money and assets would free up money that both states require for their welfare programs.
There is a long history of association between Revanth and Naidu. Revanth spent a number of years with the TDP and was twice elected from Kodangal on the party platform in 2009 and 2014. Before Naidu resigned in October 2017 and joined the Congress, he was seen as being close to the latter.
