KCR wants AP Express to be renamed “Telangana Express”

Hyderabad: The politics of naming places and projects continues unabated between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. After universities, parks, airport and buildings, it’s time for trains to become the bone of contention.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who wants every important place to be named after the local heros and erase the mark of Andhra Pradesh, has demanded that Andhra Pradesh Express be renamed “Telangana Express”.

The express train links Hyderabad to the national capital New Delhi and was has been called AP Express from its inception.

In a letter addressed to the Ministry of Railways, Rao said that continuing the name of AP Express even after bifurcation was incomprehensible. “The express was named as AP Express when Hyderabad was [the] capital of Andhra Pradesh. But after [the] formation of Telangana state, the name is incomprehensible”, he wrote.

He also suggested that the Hyderabad Sirpur Telangana Express be retitled Komram Bheem Express, after a renowned tribal freedom fighter.

Soon after coming to power in Telangana, Rao changed the name of Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University to Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University after the ideologue of Telangana state, evoking protest from Andhra leaders.

His proposal to change the name of Kasu Brahmananda Reddy National Park in Hyderabad to “Asif Jahi Park” has also evoked negative reaction from some quarters including a few Congress leaders. The park, which was a part of Cherian Palace of Nizam family earlier, was named after the former Chief Minister Kasu Brahmanand Reddy, who hails from Andhra.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has said that the administration of the state will start functioning from the new capital from April-June next year.

“Hyderabad will be only political capital of Andhra Pradesh. The administration will start functioning from the new capital, even if only sheds [are] available”, he said.

He was addressing the Telugu Desam Legislature Party meeting on the first day of the AP legislative assembly session on Thursday. The issue of AP government functioning from the new capital instead of Hyderabad was raised by some of the party legislators.

Naidu said that the construction work in the new capital will begin immediately and efforts will be made to shift the government offices there at the earliest. “We want the administration to start functioning from Andhra Pradesh itself at the earliest. From now onwards Hyderabad will serve only as political capital”, he said.

Naidu said he will be available to ministers every Monday and to the MLAs every Saturday.