Telangana : Will happen, but when ?????

Interesting news item on Telangana from Deccan Chronicle. Looks likely, in the short term i.e., in the next few months an announcement on creation of a separate Telangana is unlikely. The debate i.e., sentiment vs development continues.


Telengana Debate

Hyderabad, Feb. 7: Unwilling to concede to the demand for a separate Telangana state, the Congress has decided instead, on the suggestion of the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, to set up a committee to monitor development projects in the region. The panel will also address political developments relating to the demand for a new state. At Tuesday’s Congress Core Committee meeting in Delhi chaired by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, Dr Reddy said it is unprecedented for a region which includes the state’s capital to break away.

He also noted that the recent increase of two Lok Sabha and 18 Assembly segments in the Telangana region after delimitation was an indication that people from other regions in the state have settled in the capital and surrounding districts. The formation of Andhra Pradesh as a single entity was settled five decades ago, he said.

Politically, too, it would be an unwise decision to support a separate state, Dr Reddy added, quoting a recent survey conducted by the party that showed the Telangana Rashtra Samiti lagging behind the Congress. The survey also indicated lack of public support for bifurcation. The 40-minute meeting weighed a number of options before coming to the conclusion that it cannot concur with the demand for separate statehood in view of resistance from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema.

The Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, is likely to make a formal announcement regarding the party’s stand on the Telangana issue on her visit to the city, where she will address a mammoth public rally on March 14 and inaugurate the Shamshabad airport, two days ahead of a schedule released earlier.

Mrs Gandhi, sources said, is keen that the Telangana issue be handled carefully so people do not get the impression that the Congress is against the sentiment for a separate state. She said at the core panel meeting that the people of Telangana region should be convinced that the party is not standing in the way of a separate state, for which a broad consensus between parties has to be arrived at.

The Union home minister, Mr Shivraj Patil, told the meeting that the outlawed CPI (Maoist) had also called for a separate state and to accede to the demand would mean adverse ramifications for security in the country. The meeting was also attended by Union ministers Mr Pranab Mukherjee, Mr Arjun Singh and Mr A.K. Antony.