GoM suggests R-T, Final call today - TeluguPeople.com News

NEW DELHI: The Group of Ministers (GoM) on Telangana, in its final meeting on Wednesday, finalised a more than 25 page report, Cabinet note and a Reorganisation Draft Bill, which will be taken up by the Union Cabinet on Thursday.

The report, a minister indicated, is for a bigger Telangana or Rayala-Telangana, including two districts of Rayalaseema region ' Kurnool and Anantapur. After the meeting, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said the Cabinet will discuss the recommendations proposed by the GoM.

'GoM report on Telangana will be discussed in tomorrow's (Thursday) Union Cabinet meeting,' Shinde said.

Political parties in the State, including YSR Congress, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and BJP, have launched an offensive against the UPA government for extending the original proposal of Telangana to include Rayala-Telangana.

Although the BJP-led NDA had asked the government to table the Telangana Bill in the Winter session of Parliament, it raised objections over Rayala-Telangana.

'The NDA wants that the Telangana Bill should be brought in this session of Parliament. However, we feel that the inclusion of two new districts in the proposed Telangana State is not ethical,' said deputy leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Sources said even if Rayala Telangana is approved by the Cabinet, it will be difficult for the UPA government to pass the Bill in the Winter session of Parliament.

Sources also confirmed that Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, Shinde and Defence Minister A K Antony had a separate meeting earlier this week to discuss the future strategy if the Bill is stalled due to opposition to Rayala-Telangana.

If the proposal is accepted, the undivided Andhra Pradesh would be divided equally and the two states would get 21 Lok Sabha seats each, 147 seats each in the Assembly and 45 seats in the Legislative Council.

'Antony and Shinde also met some senior political leaders seeking support for Rayala-Telangana. However, they are apprehensive and want to examine the GoM recommendations before promising support,' sources said.

The GoM constituted to look into the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh on October 3, had received over 22,000 e-mails and approximately 8,500 pages containing suggestions from the public on GoM's terms and reference.

The issue of Hyderabad continues to be contentious as Seemandhra leaders are demanding protection of the lives and property of Seemandhra people settled in Hyderabad after the bifurcation of the State.

The GoM, in its meeting, fine-tuned issues related to distribution of assets, sharing of water, demarcation of boundaries and divisions of officers' cadre.