DC, N. Vamsi Srinivas , Hyderabad: Naming the two new states in case AP is bifurcated will be a tricky affair. The two names, Seemandhra and Rayala Telangana popularised by the media, have been mentioned in Justice Srikrishna Committee report.
Sources told this newspaper that the Centre will apply its mind on the names of the states only after the ruling Congress announces its final decision and asks the UPA government to initiate the process of dividing the state.
The naming of the state has always been contentious what with the Telangana protagonists accusing their counterparts in the Andhra region of succeeding in removing “Telangana” when it was merged with the Andhra state in 1956. TRS leaders had announced in Assembly that the new state was originally named “Telanganandhra Pradesh”, but Andhra leaders had got Telangana removed.
The TRS, which is averse to the inclusion of the two Rayalaseema districts of Kurnool and Anantapur in the new state, will oppose the name Rayala Telangana. “The inclusion itself is not acceptable. Secondly, how can the word Rayala be accepted as a prefix with just two districts? It can be a suffix at the best,” a senior party leader pointed out.
The name “Hyderabad” also did the rounds in New Delhi bureaucratic circles, but Congress leaders from the state cautioned the central leadership against the move as it would bring back memories of the Nizams’ rule.
“The BJP will try to gain the maximum mileage out of it,” a Congress MP pointed out.
Also the word “Seema” becoming a prefix for the Andhra state has not gone down well with Andhra leaders. “As with the case of Telangana, the second state will also have only two Rayalaseema districts and the remaining nine are from the Andhra region,” a minister said, adding that “Seema” at best could be used as a suffix or the name Andhra Pradesh could be retained.
Asian Age, Jul 29, 2013 : The Congress Party appears to be moving forward towards the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. It will call a a UPA coordination meeting on July 31 and later convene a CWC session to endorse the decision to create a Telangana state.
This is, however, unlikely to be a smooth affair due to sharp divisions in the state, cutting across party lines. “Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh states were created because of the resolutions of the Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh Assemblies. But such a resolution will not be passed by the Andhra Assembly,” party insiders said, fearing the move may set off a violent reaction.
Any Parliament resolution on this will be perceived as forcing the decision on Andhra Pradesh, which played a key role in bringing the Congress back to power at the Centre in 2004 and had elected the highest number of MPs in 2009.
Barring Karnataka, the Congress is not seen as a strong party in South India despite being in power in Kerala, and it is likely to lose in Andhra. A spell of instability is likely to begin in Andhra Pradesh once the UPA coordination committee favours a separate Telangana state.
The NCP and RLD favour smaller states, that give space to smaller parties. The BJP on Sunday voiced support for the bifurcation of Andhra.
“We support the Telangana cause. The BJP is committed to forming the state... the government should grant it immediately,” BJP president Rajnath Singh told reporters.
DNA: Progressive Alliance (UPA) coordination committee will meet on July 31 to discuss the formation of Telangana state.
According to reports, the Congress leadership is in favour of creation of separate state and deliberations are on over inclusion of two Rayalaseema districts in Telangana.
A Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting is also expected to be held after the Coordination Committee meeting.
Congress MPs from Telangana have so far accused the Centre of following what they call a ‘one-step-forward-two-backward’ approach when it comes to addressing their demand for a separate state.
The Centre’s flip-flop over the issue began in December 2009 when the then Home Minister P. Chidambaram promised the formation of a new state only to go back on it after a few days.
The issue was later pushed before a committee headed by Justice BN Srikrishna. This panel did not come up with a tangible solution, but instead presented six options.
These included the creation of a Telangana Regional Council within Andhra, bifurcation of the state into Telangana with Hyderabad as the capital and Seemandhra with a new capital; bifurcation of the state into Seemandhra and Telangana after making Hyderabad a Union Territory; bifurcation of the state into Seemandhra and Telangana with enlarged Hyderabad metropolis as a Union Territory; bifurcation of the state into Rayala Telangana and Coastal Andhra; and maintenance of status quo.
Hyderabad: The pro-Telangana parties, the TRS, BJP and the CPI, are against the formation of a Rayala-Telangana comprising 12 districts.
TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao cancelled his media briefing scheduled for Sunday evening at the last minute and decided to wait for the Congress’ official stand on the state’s division.
TRS women activists take a bike rally as a part of the “Sadak Bandh” campaign demanding
statehood for Telangana in Hyderabad - PTI
After holding talks with his party leaders and TJAC chairman Prof. Kodandaram on Sunday, Rao reportedly raised objections regarding a Rayala-Telangana.
“Why should we endorse such a proposal? It neither helps the people of Telangana or Rayalaseema. Also, how can the TRS agree to Hyderabad as a common capital for two states on a permanent basis or a Central government administration in Hyderabad?,” Rao reportedly told his party leaders.
The TRS has also decided to oppose any move by the Centre to control financial and law & order issues in Hyderabad in the event of a bifurcation.
TRS spokesperson Jagadeeswara Reddy said that the party was not going to support Rayala Telangana and demanded a pure T-state comprising only 10 districts of Telangana with Hyderabad as the capital city.
State BJP president G. Kishen Reddy too said that the party would oppose splitting the four Rayalaseema districts. “No one asked for a Rayala Telangana. We want only a T-state and nothing short of it,” said Reddy.
On Saturday, CPI state secretary K. Narayana had also opposed the move and had demanded that a Telangana state be formed.
On Monday evening, leaders of the ruling UPA will meet at the prime minister's residence to discuss the statehood issue, the Food Security Bill and convening the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi is supposed to brief the UPA partners on her party’s stand on Telangana in detail during the meet.
Since all the existing UPA partners have, in one way or the other, supported the Telangana cause in the past, it is believed that there will be no opposition to the proposal of bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.
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