The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to respond to a petition seeking the implementation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014, ANI reported. A division bench headed by Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri asked the Centre to file its reply within four weeks.
“Nearly four years have passed and nothing has happened,” the bench told Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh. “File your response.”
Congress leader P Sudhakar Reddy, who is a member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council, filed the petition. In it, he alleged that no action had been taken on several provisions of the act, including establishing a separate High Court for Telangana, Live Law reported.
“This has been resulting in hardship to lakhs of people in both states, and the non-implementation of provisions/assurances made in the Act will reduce the confidence on Parliament among the people,” Reddy said in his petition.
The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014 led to the bifurcation of the state and the creation of the state of Telangana. Legislators from Andhra Pradesh have held up proceedings in Parliament for weeks now, demanding special status for the state. They maintain that the bifurcation of the state affected the state’s financial position.
On Monday, MPs of the Telugu Desam Party stood at their seats in Parliament, with black ribbons pinned to their shirts. The party quit the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in protest against the Centre’s reluctance to grant the state the special status.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has accused the Narendra Modi-led government of diverting tax revenues collected from the south to fund development projects in northern states and also claimed that the Centre was denying Andhra Pradesh its rights by not according special category status.
Naidu has claimed that the BJP is “resorting to tricks” to prevent a fair discussion in Parliament on the no-confidence motions his party and and others moved against the government in the Lok Sabha.
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