Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has proved time and again that he can go to any extent if it suits his political interests.
For the last few days, Naidu has been speaking in a different tone that sounded dangerous to democratic set up.
A few days ago, Naidu told the party colleagues that the Centre was treating Andhra Pradesh in such a way that the state is not part of India.
A couple of days ago, addressing a meeting at Narsaraopet, the TDP chief said the state was a sovereign entity and did not have to depend on the Centre; as such, the Centre cannot ask for accounts for the funds granted to the state.
In the same breath, he hinted that if the Centre did not do justice to the state, it would lead to unrest among the people of the state and the situation might turn like in Punjab and Assam in the past.
Political observers say Naidu had deliberately, though cautiously, made the statement.
He was hinting at separatist movements in Punjab and Assam that rocked the country in ‘80s and indicated that if the Centre did not heed to his demands, the people of the state might also go in for separatist movements.
The talk of AP being treated as an outsider to India and that AP is a sovereign state also can be viewed in that angle.
“Now, this is dangerous to democracy. Apparently, Naidu is trying whip up separatist passions among the people in the name of self-respect for his own political mileage. He might even kick up north-south divide in the coming days,” an observer said.
