The ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) on Tuesday unanimously endorsed the creation of a separate state of Telangana.
"The UPA
unanimously decided in favour of Telangana," RLD leader Ajit Singh told
reporters after a meeting of the constituents of the ruling coalition at
the residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Replying to questions, there are "so many issues" but a decision was taken on Tuesday in favour of Telangana.
The
decision to clear the path for Telangana was taken at a meeting of the
coordination committee of the UPA, sources told Hindustan Times. This
meeting will be followed by a meeting of the Congress Working Committee
(CWC) where the party is expected to endorse the formation of Telangana
state.
A formal announcement will be made after the CWC
meeting. There was no clarity on the status of Hyderabad. There is
a proposal to include two Rayalseema districts in Telangana.
Telangana
state will comprise 10 districts with Hyderabad as its capital. The
Congress leadership has reportedly dropped the proposal for
Rayala-Telangana, comprising Rayalaseema and Telangana in view of strong
opposition from leaders of both the regions. It is also understood to
have given up the idea of union territory status to Hyderabad due to
reservations by Telangana leaders.
The other state comprising
Rayalaseema and Andhra regions is likely to retain the name Andhra
Pradesh. Hyderabad is likely to be made joint capital of both the states
for few years till Andhra Pradesh develops its own capital.
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The BJP has charged
the Congress with "dilly-dallying" on the issue and demanded that the
UPA dispensation not just make an announcement but bring a bill on it in
the monsoon session of Parliament.
"There has been a
demand for giving statehood to Telangana with Hyderabad as the capital
and an integral part of the state but Congress has been dilly-dallying
on the issue. We do not know what it is going to do. Congress has
betrayed the people of the region for the last 56 years," BJP
spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.
The remarks came
even as Congress top brass is engaged in a series of discussions on the
issue amid indications that an announcement is imminent.
"We reiterate our
demand for Telangana. We don't want Congress to only make an
announcement but also bring a bill in Parliament in the monsoon
session," Javadekar said, adding that it will be passed by both Houses.
The BJP MP recalled
that Congress had made an announcement in Parliament on December 9,
2009 that the process of formation of Telangana has begun. "Three and a
half years have passed since then but nothing has been done. The
government has betrayed the people," he said.
Andhra CM Reddy junks reports that he will quit
Andhra Pradesh
chief minister Kirankumar Reddy has dismissed as "rumour" reports that
he has threatened to quit if the Congress gives its nod for formation of
a separate Telangana.
"It's all rumour," he told reporters when asked about the reports.
Reddy's clarification came after his hour-long meeting with AICC general secretary (in-charge Andhra Pradesh) Digvijaya Singh.
Reddy, who hails from Rayalaseema region, is said to be strongly opposed to the division of the state.
Congress leaders from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions had held closed-door meetings with Reddy on Monday in Hyderabad.
'Why Telangana report was not discussed in Parliament'
The Telugu Desam
Party (TDP) has questioned why the Union government did not table the
Srikrishna Committee's report on Telengana before the Parliament for
discussion.
Srikrishna
Committee on Telangana or the Committee for Consultations on the
Situation in Andhra Pradesh (CCSAP) was a committee headed by former
chief justice BN Srikrishna to look into the demand for separate
statehood for Telangana or whether to keep Andhra Pradesh united in its
present form.
TDP MLA Devineni
Uma Maheswara Rao, who is also the party's Krishna district president
demanded that the union government reveal the status of the report.
He alleged that the
union government is preparing to take a unilateral decision without
considering the pros and cons of bifurcating the state.
He also demanded that the union government must not take a decision against the wishes of the people of the Rayalaseema region.
What's Telangana about:1. If allowed, Telangana would be the 29th state of Independent India.
2.
The Telangana region comprises 10 districts: Hyderabad, Adilabad,
Khammam, Karimnagar, Mahbubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad,
Rangareddy, and Warangal.
3. Apart from Telangana, Andra Pradesh consists of two other parts namely Coastal Andra and Rayalaseema.
4.
According to sources, violence that came along with the Telangana
merger demand has consumed more than 1000 lives over last three years,
which includes numerous cases of self immolation.
5. The sharing of the capital city Hyderabad had long been the bone of contention in the separation struggle.
6.
Pro-Telangana people put forward a notion that 45% of the state income
comes from Telangana but when it comes to utilization of funds, its
share is only 28%.
7. Proponents of a separate Telangana state
cite perceived injustices in the distribution of water, budget
allocations, and jobs.
