Cabinet okays President's rule in Andhra Pradesh

After a gap of 41 years, Andhra Pradesh headed for Central rule with the Union Cabinet on Friday recommending imposition of President’s rule in the state.

The Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, recommended to President Pranab Mukherjee imposition of Central rule in Andhra Pradesh where Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy resigned last week after Parliament passed the bill to carve out a separate Telangana state. He had attacked the Centre for dividing the state “by throwing all norms to the winds”.

“The Union Cabinet has recommended imposition of President’s Rule in Andhra Pradesh where the state Assembly would be kept in suspended animation,” Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said.

Ramesh said the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Bill, which was passed by Parliament last week, has been sent to President Pranab Mukherjee for his assent.

The decision to impose President’s rule also sets at rest demands for formation of a government in Andhra Pradesh, which is set to go to polls along with the Lok Sabha elections.

Sops announced

The Centre also announced some sops for Andhra Pradesh by deciding to set up Central schools and a premier institute of design in the state which would soon be bifurcated into Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

The Union Cabinet has approved setting up of a National Institute of Design in Vijayawada at a cost of Rs 109 crore. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion had proposed setting up the premier institute at Hyderabad. But this ran into stiff opposition from Union ministers from Seemandhra, including K S Rao, M M Pallam Raju and K Chiranjeevi. After a brief discussion, the prime minister agreed to shift the NID to Vijayawada in Seemandhra region.

Of the 10 Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV) to be set up, seven will be in Telangana  and three in Seemandhra. In Telangana, the KVs would come up in Warangal, Secunderabad, Nalgonda, Adilabad, Karimnagar, Medak and Nizamabad. In the Seemandhra region, the KVs would be set up at Kadapa, Guntur and East Godavari districts. Andhra Pradesh first came under President’s rule in January 1973 following the “Jai Andhra” agitation for a separate state.