Telangana Bill cleared by centre with Hyderabad as joint capital

The Union Cabinet held a special meeting on Friday, Feb 07 and cleared the Telangana Bill. The Bill will now be introduced in the Parliament on Feb 12.

Inspite of vehement demands for grant of Union Territory status to the current state capital Hyderabad, the government is just going to announce a special package for North Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.

The Core Group meeting of Congress followed the clearance meeting of the Bill. This meeting was headed by the party President Sonia Gandhi and attended by AICC General Secretary Digvijaya Singh.

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who is a supporter of separate Telangana, questioned at the cabinet meeting if the law and order powers given to the Governor are constitutional. When questioned about the new capital of Seemandhra, Pawar was reportedly told that the Centre will bear all the cost.

With polls around the corner and the current session being the last, the government wants to pass the Bill. Despite the opposition from Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, the government decided to go ahead with the Bill.

The assembly rejected the Bill, and Mr.Reddy staged a sit-in protest opposing the bifurcation of the state. Telangana supporters and opponents have been creating Parliament uproar for the past three days.

But it seems like the centre is firm about going ahead with the bifurcation, and no one can stop the process now. Please leave your comments on whether it is in the best interest of the state going ahead with the division.