Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], June 6 (ANI): YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leader and former Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath on Saturday criticised Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan's recent remarks regarding Telangana, saying political leaders must understand public sentiment and avoid fuelling regional tensions.

In an interview with ANI, Rajendranath termed Pawan Kalyan's statements 'wrong' and said people in public life should respond to criticism or observations with facts rather than allowing matters to escalate emotionally.

'It is very wrong. The reason is that you have to understand politics. You have to understand the sentiments of the people. You have to understand emotions,' Rajendranath said.

Referring to comments made by former MLC Prof. Nageshwar, Rajendranath said disagreement with a public statement should be addressed through factual clarification.

'This started with an observation made by one of the most respected figures in Indian journalism today. Prof. Nageshwar. He made a statement. If there is something that is not correct about that statement, you should come forward and give a factual explanation. When you are in public life, people are going to make statements. You cannot expect to be in public life and not know that,' he said.

He added that the issue had unnecessarily escalated into a regional divide. 'You cannot simply say that someone shouldn't make a statement; he made one. It has now snowballed into some sort of an Andhra versus Telangana regional issue,' Rajendranath added.

This comes after Pawan Kalyan launched a scathing attack on certain political leaders in Telangana, questioning their authority to restrict his entry into Hyderabad and asserting that the city does not belong to any specific individual.

Addressing a press conference, the Deputy CM reacted sharply to threats allegedly made by some local politicians. 'A few leaders are saying how I will enter Hyderabad. Is Telangana your father's place? Who are you to threaten me?' Pawan Kalyan asked.

Reflecting on the history of the region's bifurcation, Kalyan expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which the state was divided in 2014, suggesting that the process lacked the necessary respect for both sides.

'Our grievance is that the state division was not done with dignity and Telangana state was not given properly,' he remarked.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, in a post on X, Kalyan said his position on Telangana has remained unchanged since the state's formation and stressed the importance of maintaining mutual respect, peace and cooperation between the two Telugu-speaking states.

'Following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, while certain law and order concerns were raised, I clearly opposed the implementation of Section 8, as I believed it would undermine the self-respect and right to self-governance of the people of Telangana. I have always maintained that respecting the aspirations and rights of the people of Telangana is as important as addressing the security concerns of the people of Andhra Pradesh,' he said. (ANI)