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Congress president Sonia Gandhi was reported to have discussed the issue with senior ministers and party leaders today. Sources said most of the leaders who attended the meeting were in favour of bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.
Among those who attended the meeting were Sonia’s political secretary Ahmed Patel, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Defence Minister A K Antony, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, union minister and AICC general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi.
“We have not taken a final decision yet,” asserted a senior party leader.
But sources said that while the Congress is inclined to support statehood for Telangana, the vexed issue of declaring Hyderabad as its capital remains unresolved. Among the options being considered are declaring Hyderabad a union territory or a joint capital for a certain time.
There is also a proposal to create a Rayala Telangana by including two districts from the Rayalaseema region, Anantpur and Kurnool, in the new state.
Although the Srikrishna Committee, in its report submitted in January 2011, had recommended a united Andhra with statutory measures to empower the Telangana region, sources said the situation had changed with the BJP firmly supporting a separate state, and even the TDP coming around to accepting this view.
Sources said Sonia is keen to resolve the stalemate.
At a Congress core group meeting before the monsoon session of Parliament, she was said to have asked, “How long can we keep this issue pending?”
A section of the Congress believes that creation of a separate state will help the party retain its hold in the region, which has 17 Lok Sabha seats. If the two districts of Rayalseema region are also included, the total number of seats will go up to 21.
With Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress gaining strength at the expense of the Congress in Andhra Pradesh, the ruling party is apprehensive of a drubbing in the state in the next general elections. The state remains crucial for the party given that it won 33 of the total 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2009.
The Congress is also in touch with Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, who has already declared that he is ready to merge his outfit with the Congress if his demand for a separate state is met.
While the Telangana Joint Action Committee has given a call for a “Telangana march” on September 30, the Congress plans to take a final call before the movement is revived.
This is not a easy issue to separate two states like property sharing by brothers. First they should resolve Hyderabad and water problem. Once took decision about telangana, already lot of areas are demanding seperate states.They will get more headache. If any one died, local politicains are showing he sucided because of Telangana, so Goverment has to see what is the reality.Government should explain what is the benfits or problems if seperate the states.
GOOD NEWS. IF TELENGANA. STATE IS. FORMED QUICKLY WITH. HYDERABAD. AS CAPITAL. THIS. 50 YR. PROBLEM WOULD BE SOLVED. ONCE AND FOR. ALL AND THE TWO STATES CAN FLOURISH. WELL AND. SEEMANDRA. CAN QUICKLY CREATE. ANOTHER CAPITAL . IT'S ANOTHER MATTER WHETHER. THE MONSTROUS TERRIBLY LAGGARD STATE. OF U.P SHLD BE MADE SMALLER.. PERHAPS SO. SINCE. FROM 80. LOK SABHA SEATS. , THE NEXT. ONE IS. MAHARASHTRA. WITH. 48. ,SO PERHAPS. SENSIBLY. U.P COULD. BE. SPLIT AS. MINIMUM TWO STATES. OR MAX. THREE STATES. THANK YOU.
The issue was kept pending for too long. At least , now at last core committee woke up.hope it will take a decision before some more damage is inflicted on the psyche of people of A.P.They were taken for a ride by all political parties.
Congress is behind all type of secessionist movement as they patronised the forces for capturing power. Now other divisive forces may start agitation in case the so called Central govt. succumb tp pressures of the provincial leaders.
The real issue is not Hyderabad but water. Krishna and Godavari rivers pass through Telangana before reaching Coastal Andhra. There is every possibility that Krishna delta will go dry after bifurcation. No amount of assurances can substitute for certain starvation in Krishna Delta. As it is AP fights Maharashtra on Godavari and Karnataka on Krishna. .
Do you Congress 'leaders' read the news? Isn't this what Mayawati promised in UP, thinking it was a political masterstroke? What became of her?
After all who is congress to give Telangana. Telangana People have right to get it due to the sacrifices made by Telangana people for the past 50 years. Credit goes to BJP for all this. BJP will win atleast 10 seats from Telangana in 2014 elections if Telangana is formed or not by then.
