Party calls for merging Rayalseema region

Hyderabad: Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), an important stakeholder on the issue of separate statehood for the Telangana region has for the first time opened its cards saying that though it was in favour of a united Andhra Pradesh with constitutional guarantees to protect the interests of Telangana, should division of the state became inevitable, a greater Telangana state should be formed by merging the Telangana and Rayalseema regions.

In its representation to the Justice Srikrishna committee, MIM has also surprised its detractors by making it clear that it will never support the idea of making Hyderabad a union territory.

Contiguity concerns

"Hyderabad has always been an integral part of Telangana region", MIM said in its memorandum stressing that the people and leaders of the other two regions — coastal Andhra and Rayalseema — have no right to stake a claim on the city "because their regions have no contiguity with Hyderabad".

"Historically, for centuries Telangana, like the other linguistic areas, was the part of the erstwhile Hyderabad state or Golkonda empire", MIM said in its memorandum submitted by the party president and member of parliament Asaduddin Owaisi in New Delhi.

"Without Hyderabad city, Telangana state will not be geographically, economically and politically stable and strong," the memorandum said. But the party demanded that the interest of the people of the other regions and states living in Hyderabad should be safeguarded.

MIM, which has seven legislators from the city and also represents Hyderabad in the Lok Sabha, also demanded status quo on reservation policies for socially and economically backward groups. It also called for Urdu to be recognised as an official language along with Telugu if the proposed Telangana state came into existence.