Bandaru asks KCR to hold meeting of Telangana MPs

Hyderabad, BJP MP from Secunderabad, Bandaru Dattatreya on Saturday asked Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to immediately convene a meeting of all MPs from the state to discuss various issues pending with the Centre so that they could be raised in the forthcoming Budget session of Parliament.

The Chief Minister should convene a meeting of all MPs ahead of the Budget session. We should prepare a report on various issues so that they can be raised in Parliament.

All MPs should raise the issues irrespective of their party affiliations with the sole objective of building a golden Telangana, Dattatreya, a former Union minister of state, told reporters here.

The MP said that a delegation of BJP leaders from Telangana, including the state unit president G Kishan Reddy, met 14 Union ministers in New Delhi over the last two days and discussed all issues related to the newly-formed state.

The response from the Union ministers is very positive. All are ready to be pro-active and help in the development of Telangana, Dattatreya said. He said that ministers were waiting for specific requests from the Telangana state government on various issues.

They are committed to building a golden Telangana as promised by the BJP in its election manifesto. We gained confidence after meeting them that we can make the dream of golden Telangana a reality, Dattatreya remarked.

He said that the delegation would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon and submit a memorandum for comprehensive development of Telangana. We would explore that all Central schemes are available and get them to the state.

We will see that no project or funds remain pending with the Centre. For this, co-operation of the state government is very essential. We will enlist the state government's support, Dattatreya added. 

Referring to his meeting with Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani, the MP said that he has sought a special financial package of Rs 200 crore for improving infrastructure and academic standards in Osmania University in Hyderabad, which will be celebrating its centenary in 2018.

The OU is in a pathetic state now and faces the threat of losing its 'A' grade as it has not been accredited yet this academic year. It will lose Rs 39 crore grant from the UGC because of this and I took up the issue with the HRD Minister, Dattatreya said.

He said that Irani has promised to visit the OU soon and to positively consider granting the package. Dattatreya said he requested the Union power minister Piyush Goyal to allocate at least 1000 MW of power to Telangana which has been facing a severe crisis.

Goyal responded positively and said there was a scope for allocation of additional power as the Southern Grid opened recently. He (Goyal) also stressed on the need for strengthening power transmission and distribution lines in the state and promised special financial assistance, the MP said.