The Congress and the government finally bite the bullet after they decided to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh, the process for which will take at least six months. The government also decided to keep Hyderabad as the capital of both the states for the next 10 years, after which the truncated Andhra Pradesh will have move out. Creation of the new Telangana state will take close to six months that involve a number of steps, including adoption of State Re-organisation Bill by Parliament by a simple majority.
Contrary to the perception that a Constitution Amendment Bill is required, the bill to be adopted by the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha does not need a two-thirds majority as is the case when a Constitution amendment is required to be adopted. At a Union Cabinet meeting, which is expected to be held today, an in-principle approval is likely to be given for creation of a group of ministers compriseng ministers of Home, finance, HRD, health, irrigation, power, environment and forests, railways and deputy chairman of Planning Commission to go into the economic issues on creation of the new state. The home ministry will submit a note to the Cabinet for creation of Telanagana on the basis of the proposal received from the state government. The entire process will take at least 40 days.
The home ministry will prepare another note for the Cabinet with State Re-organisation Bill on the basis of the recommendations and suggestions of the GoM requesting the Cabinet to approve the Bill and to recommend to the President to refer the Bill to the legislature of the state. Andhra Pradesh Assembly will also have to pass a resolution that a separate state of Telangana be formed. Meanwhile, the finance ministry will appoint an expert committee to recommend measures for smooth transition in terms of financial management and viability of the reorganised state.
The decision taken at the Congress working committee meeting,prime minister Manmohan Singh said the decision to create a Telangana will help the entire Andhra region.Party president Sonia Gandhi gave a historical perspective on the issue to the CWC meeting in which Digvijay Singh moved the resolution. It was adopted unanimously. Like last week end, when indications emerged that the Congress was veering towards formation of Telangana, ministers and MPs belonging to the non-Telangana regions made last ditch efforts to convince Sonia and Manmohan to have a rethink on the issue.
Andhra state, the first entity formed on linguistic basis, was created in 1953 from out of the erstwhile Madras Presidency with Kurnool as the capital. With the passing of the States Reorganisation Act in 1956, there was a merger of Hyderabad state and Andhra state to be called Andhra Pradesh from November 1, 1956. Andhra Pradesh now has a population of over 8.5 crore.
The 2009 announcement, taken at the height of an indefinite fast by TRS leader K Chandrashekhar Rao, had ignited street protests in the non-Telangana regions and opposition from ministers, MLAs and leaders from within the party that forced the central government and the Congress leadership to put the issue on hold. The Centre held rounds of meetings with all parties from the state and set up a commission under the chairmanship for Supreme Court judge justice Srikrishna, which had given a report suggesting various solutions. Chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, who was opposed to the division of Andhra Pradesh and was said to be thinking in terms of resigning, was called for consultations. He attended the UPA meeting.
However, he dismissed reports of resignation as "rumours". Similarly, Congress ministers in the Centre and the MPs gave enough indications that they would follow the party line. Replying to a volley of questions on sharing of resources between the two states, Digvijay Singh said the group of ministers to be set up on the subject will go into sharing of land, water, revenue and assets and liabilities between Andhra and Telangana. While maintaining that it was a "difficult" decision, Singh rejected suggestions that the decision was aimed at reaping electoral benefits saying "political expediency cannot be a reason for such a far reaching decision." Explaining the reason for the decision, the Congress general secretary said it had a historical background and states are not formed merely on the basis of agitations.
He rejected suggestions that the decision to carve out Telangana was based on political compulsions. "It is a long standing demand…it has nothing to do with elections," he said. He said the Centre will urge the Andhra Pradesh assembly to adopt a resolution on creation of Telangana. The Assembly will have to accept or reject the resolution, Singh said adding, however, that either way it will not be binding on the Centre. Referring to the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), Singh said its chief K Chandrashekar Rao had maintained that it will merge with Congress once Telangana is created. "We shall await reaction of TRS…we will be favourably inclined to discuss the issue," he said.
To questions about opposition within the Congress to Telangana, Digvijaya asserted "Congress party stands solidly behind the decision taken at the AICC." Giving an overview about the procedures for formation of the new state, he said legal mechanisms would be worked out so that both states can function effectively. He said the name of the new state will be Telangana and the new capital for Andhra will be identified from the Seema Andhra region.
