Telangana: Home Ministry to meet on Thursday to finalise draft bill

NEW DELHI: Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has said that the Group of Ministers on Telangana has completed discussions on bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh with all stake-holders and it would meet on Thursday to finalise the draft bill.

The bill would be placed before Cabinet "as soon as possible", the home minister added. Shinde made the announcement after the GoM met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and several central ministers from the state. The Cabinet is expected to approve the draft bill by the end of this month.

Reddy reiterated his opposition before the GoM but appeared resigned to the inevitability of the Centre bifurcating the state. He seemed in no tearing hurry either to quit in protest or try his luck in fanning a revolt.

"When the assembly meets, I will place my views on the matter," Reddy said when asked whether he would quit or agree to preside over the bifurcation of the state as Shinde had already announced the Centre’s decision to bring the Telangana formation bill in the winter session of Parliament that begins next month.

According to a UPA source, there will be a special Assembly session by the end of November, once the President sends the bill for the view of the state legislature. Reddy reiterated his position that division of the state would weaken the fight against Maoists, complicate river-water sharing and massive irrigation projects and sharing of power, revenue and liabilities. He urged the Centre to address aspirations of the Telangana people through development packages and schemes.

"Since people like me work on the ground, we know ground realities better than many others," Reddy said. Union Ministers from Andhra, Jaipal Reddy, V Kishore Chandra Deo, Pallam Raju, JD Seelam and Chiranjeevi also appeared before the GoM. Deo, who belongs to Seemandhra, submitted a memorandum to GOM, demanding that Visakapatanam be made the capital of residual Andhra Pradesh and said he was against the mechanism of a joint capital.

MoS for Finance JD Seelam, however, said Hyderabad should be made a Union Territory on the lines of Puducherry as "one-third of the population in Hyderabad is from the Seemandhra region".

Jaipal Reddy said Hyderabad "was a part and parcel" of Telangana and demanded that the Bhadrachalam revenue sub-division should be made an integral part of Telangana and not be given to residual Andhra Pradesh. "There is no need for any tribunal on sharing of Godavari water but a tribunal is needed for the River Krishna," Reddy told reporters.