Positive politics are welcome, but the shocking politics of Andhra Pradesh in Telangana is subversive.
Post Date – 12:50 AM, Wednesday – Dec 7 22
Positive politics are welcome, but the shocking politics of Andhra Pradesh in Telangana is subversive.
by JR Janumpalli
Hyderabad: It has been eight years since the independent state of Telangana was formed. But the absurd politics of Andras continued to cause trouble for the country. As Andhra Pradesh did not improve much, the former “powerful” residents and key government workers remained in Hyderabad as the capital problem was not resolved. They don’t want to leave Hyderabad and they don’t identify with Telangana. They call themselves the people of “Two Telugus”, which is a euphemism for Andhra Pradesh. They have properties, voter cards and ration cards in both states. They are extracting benefits from both governments for their own benefit. They voted for caste parties in Andhra Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh parties in Telangana. Suspicious dual citizenship!
They are not interested in the progress of Telangana. Some of them put on the mantle of leadership and indulge in political nonsense here. They canvass against the Telangana government and mock the progress the state has made. Some people go on the political tour in Telangana, boasting of overthrowing the current government and installing a government, just like in the US, which is anathema to Telangana.
There are people who go to Andhra Pradesh and oppose Telangana and its government, there is not much intelligible sense in it. They talked condescendingly about the history and culture of Telangana. A strange amalgam of chauvinism, misplaced victimhood, and a vindictive mentality!
baseless fear
There is nothing wrong with people commemorating their Andhra roots in Telangana. After all, Andhra Pradesh is split in two, not two states like India and Pakistan. Many other countries have previously divided in the country. The peoples of these countries live in harmony with each other. Punjab-Haryana and Maharashtra-Gujarat are two good examples. New nations are progressing in mutual cooperation. This is what America is divided for. Hundreds of thousands from other states settled in Hyderabad and Telangana. They integrated into Telangana society and lived in harmony. Why our Andhra brothers don’t like to live like that is a moot question.
The grievance that they have to suffer because of Telangana is wrong. Responsible for this is Andhra Pradesh. First, the merger of Telangana and Andhra in 1956 was a historic mistake. This is a forced merger. This is very necessary for Andhra Pradesh and totally unnecessary for Telangana. That is why there were 14 prerequisites for the merger in favor of Telangana, but all 14 were flouted with impunity in the US.
Second, Andhra Pradesh had a huge budget deficit in 1956. Andhra Pradesh always spends more than it earns. Hyderabad is income surplus. This also continued from 1956 to 2014 in the merged state. Andhra Pradesh’s deficit was covered by Telangana’s surplus for 58 years to balance the state budget. Andhra Pradesh’s per capita income in the United States has not improved much. There is a fundamental difference in the income structure of the two regions/states. SOTR accounts for only about 50% of total revenue in Andhra Pradesh, compared to more than 70% in Telangana. SOTR’s share of total revenue generally affects a country’s fiscal position. (see infographic)
Post-split, Andhra Pradesh recorded a revenue deficit of around Rs 10,000 crore in 2014. Telangana got so much and recorded a budget surplus. In fact, the Andhra region enjoyed the income of Telangana in the US and now it is back in Telangana. To offset it, the 14th and 15th Finance Committees provided deficit grants of Rs 52,000 crore to remaining APs from 2015 to 2026. Such a large 10-12 year deficit allocation has never been provided to any other divided country in the country. Despite this, Andhra’s revenue has not seen much corresponding growth. Its revenue deficit grew every year.
Third, Andhras also has a common narrative that the Associated Press has suffered huge losses as a result of the spin-off. This is baseless. In the US, the state of Telangana has lost hundreds of lives and lost trillions in revenue. It also lost an incalculable amount of river water, jobs, land, etc. In this case, what does the spin-off do to AP?
off center
The center, as if Andhra Pradesh was a victim, has approved about 20 state/infrastructure agencies and other grants. A 60,000-crore Polavaram state project has been approved by the Associated Press, even though Andhra Pradesh is pumping far more river water than it is eligible for. Even though some institutions were mentioned in the restructuring, so far the center has not considered giving them to Telangana.
Based on CAG’s audited accounts from 2014-15 to 2020-21, the amount given to AP as a devolution and grant was Rs 2,93,691 crore while for Telangana it was only Rs 1,53,341 crore. This shows both states’ losses and gains in secession.
For political reasons, the BJP-led central government continued to provide huge grants and other central funds to Andhra Pradesh. Moreover, it imposed a financial siege on Telangana and hindered its reconstruction with malicious political intentions. As if that wasn’t enough, political establishments from Andhra Pradesh are playing weird fractional politics here. Civil society in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh should see the facts and promote responsible citizenship here as they have made their home here. Positive politics is welcome, but negative politics is subversive.
(The author is a freelance writer)
