Hyderabad, April 2 -- Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) senior leader Harish Rao disagreed with Union Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy's statement on the merger of seven mandals in Telangana with Andhra Pradesh.

Reddy, in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, April 2, said the merger was a part of the AP Reorganisation Act of 2014, which Rao called "false, a distortion of history, and an insult to the self-respect of Telangana."

"It was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government that brought an amendment to the AP Reorganisation Act. K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) had openly opposed the move and even called for a Telangana bandh as a mark of protest," the Siddipet MLA said.

"Kishan Reddy cannot escape respons...