SC notice to AP govt on plea against Telangana stir

The Supreme Court on Friday sought the Andhra Pradesh government's reply on a plea contending that normal activities and administration in the state have been paralysed for the last one year due to the agitation for a separate state of Telangana.

Besides issuing notices to Telangana Rashtra Samiti, which is spearheading the stir, a bench of justices G S Singhvi and S Mukhopadhaya also issued notices to the registrar general of the high court and the state bar council and sought their replies on the plea.

The apex court issued notices on advocate P V Krishnaiah's plea, seeking the court's direction to the Centre to restrain it from carving a new state out of Andhra Pradesh.

Krishnaiah had contended that the power to carve out a new state under Article 3 of the Constitution is vested with Parliament and the same cannot be done without amending Article 371-D which granted certain benefits of reservation in employment, education and other benefits to the locals.

According to the petitioner, apart from normal life being paralysed, courts too, except the high court were not functioning properly due to the stir and that many government employees, including police personnel, had joined the stir.

The public interest litigation submitted that the agitation in the form of 'rasta roko', 'rail roko' and disruption of work at the public sector Singareni Collieries Limited is causing colossal loss of public money, besides violating Fundamental Rights of the citizens under Articles 14 (Equality) and 21 (Liberty) of the Constitution.