AP BJP demands separate Governor for Andhra Pradesh

Amaravati, Jan 18: The Andhra Pradesh BJP president Kambhampati Hari Babu has demanded the appointment of a Governor exclusively for the state at the earliest, saying this was necessary for a smooth functioning of the administration.

Babu has made the demand in a letter written to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

ESL Narasimhan is currently the Governor for both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. His appointment was made under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, which paved the way for the creation of Telangana.

The Section 7 of the Act reads: "On and from the appointed day, the Governor of the existing state of Andhra Pradesh shall be the Governor for both the successor states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for such period as may be determined by the President."

In his letter to Singh, Babu has requested him to take necessary steps to appoint a Governor for Andhra Pradesh at the earliest. The BJP is part of the TDP-led government in the state.

"There is a strong feeling and desire in the minds of the people of AP to have a Governor exclusively for the newly- formed state which will enable smooth functioning of the administration," said Babu, also the MP from Visakhapatnam.

He pointed out that the state administration has already shifted base from Hyderabad -the joint capital of both the states - to AP's new capital Amaravati. Another BJP leader, P Vishnu Kumar Raju, has accused Narasimhan of being "biased against AP".

"He has only been a visiting guest of the state. He hardly spent ten days in AP in the last three-and-a-half years. Above all, the Governor is totally biased against AP," said Raju, the BJP floor leader in the Assembly.

"The MPs (from AP) should take up the issue with the powers in New Delhi and get an exclusive Governor appointed for the state," Raju said.

"He cleared a similar Bill of Telangana in no time but held the AP Bill up," he maintained.