In a rare speech in Parliament today, Congress President Sonia Gandhi said the government took the people of Andhra Pradesh which was bifurcated in June last year and left the promises made to the air.

"Nine months have gone by and they (people of Andhra Pradesh) are beginning to feel they have been taken for granted," Mrs Gandhi said, adding, she has written to the Prime Minister twice "requesting him to speed up implementation of commitments" that were made through the Act that endorsed the division of the state.

Minister Venkaiah Naidu hit back Sonia’s comments replying that "after nine years" of being in power, the Congress was demonstrating sensitivity to the needs of Andhra Pradesh.

In 2009, it was the Congress-led coalition government that announced the creation of Telangana as a new state. However, the massive backlash that followed in the now Andhra Pradesh forced the decision into suspension, and the Congress was rudely punished last year as it was voted out of power in Andhra Pradesh.

- Manohar