Hyderabad: Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday appealed to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and his AP counterpart N. Chandrababu Naidu to meet regularly and cooperate with each other in resolving all pending disputes arising out of bifurcation.

He said he had supported the division, and since bifurcation was done three years ago, and both states are developing their own regions, it is necessary for the two Chief Ministers to meet periodically and solve all the issues.

Mr Naidu’s visit to Hyderabad is the first outside the national capital after he was sworn in as Vice-President. He was accorded a civic reception by Mr Chandrasekhar Rao at the Raj Bhavan Lawns.

Mr Venkaiah Naidu started his thanksgiving address by showering praises on the CM for speaking in chaste Telugu and quoting couplets and famous Telugu poems. “I am told that a sumptuous lunch is waiting for me, but the way Chandrasekhar Rao spoke, I feel like my stomach is already full,” he gushed. He said he admired the traditional welcome he was given. “This is what I want; Telugu culture and language need to get a major share in administration and education. I told Chandrababu Naidu this too. Both the CMs should make more efforts to develop Telugu language and its culture.”

He called English “a contagious disease” and said its main purpose was to get jobs. “It is not possible at this stage to cure the disease, but Telugu language should be developed so that Telugu people will not get alienated from their own mother tongue. You better make Telugu mandatory for all government jobs, this is my appeal,” he said.

Find what makes people happy: V-P tells leaders
He said Parliament and Assemblies must behave responsibly as they are accountable to the people.

“The Opposition should have its say but the government must be able to complete its business. Let there be healthy debate on all issues and finally let the House decide,” he said.

He urged all representatives of the people to introspect and ask why the country is not prospering even after 70 years of independence and what needs to be done to make people happy.

Mr Rao praised the mark Mr Naidu had made in politics. He recalled a speech Mr Venkaiah Naidu had made at Siddipet in the early 1980s, when he had just completed his postgraduation. Mr said people may think it is easy to make a speech but he knew how much hard work goes into becoming an orator and Mr Venkaiah Naidu can speak in three to four languages.

Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan endorsed this during his speech. He said when he was a young IPS officer in 1972, during the separate Andhra agitation, he was at a meeting in Vijayawada where thousands had gathered to listen to Mr Naidu’s speech. He said he had been impressed by the fiery speech.