At 66, Mother India gets ready for her 29th baby

Hyderabad To Be Joint Capital For 10 Years

New Delhi: The Congress leadership bit the Telangana bullet on Tuesday. It decided to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh to create a separate state of Telangana—a move that will be aloss to the politically muscular state but will be a gain for the Congress as it's expected to revive the party's fortunes in the state ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election.
    As reported by TOI on July 29, Hyderabad will remain the common capital of the splintered state for 10 years—a balancing act that recognizes Telangana's claim on the city but seeks to soften the blow to the opponents who were also concerned about the investments of coastal Andhra businesses in the capital. The Centre will help AP build a new capital.
    There are indications that a mechanism will be created to vest the governor with oversight of law and order in the city: an arrangement that falls short of turning the city into a Union Territory but reassures those worried about a sudden change in its character.
    The call on whether to include two districts of Rayalaseema region, Ananthpur and Kurnool, will be taken later. The Congress leadership favours the idea but is wary of committing itself before fully assessing the fallout.
    The desire to do well in Telangana appears to be the main driver behind the decision. While announcing the CWC's decision, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh triggered speculation of a merger of TRS with the Congress. Singh recalled TRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao's declaration that he would merge his party if the latter created Telangana.
Boost for other state demands Statehood movements across India are expectedto get a boost. In Darjeeling, Gorkhaland leaders have called for a series of agitations. The agitation for Bodoland may be revived in Assam. Demands for Bundelkhand (out of UP and MP) and Vidarbha (from Maharashtra) are also alive. P 14 Divided Andhra to lose political clout Andhra's split will cause it to lose its clout in national politics. With 42 seats in Lok Sabha, Andhra accounts for the third biggest kitty after UP (80) and Maharashtra (48). With 17 LS seats going to Telangana, Andhra will be left with 25. The number can slip to 21 if Anantapur and Kurnool is clubbed with Telangana. P 15 Rest of Andhra not to be Seemandhra The rest of Andhra Pradesh is unlikely to be named Seemandhra. Non-Telangana politicians bonded together under the Seemandhra banner giving rise to the impression that the region comprising coastal AP and Rayalseema might be renamed. But Andhra is already seen as synonymous with non-Telangana areas.WHO'S UP, WHO'S DOWN?
CONGRESS | Will gain in Telangana, having delivered on promise. With or minus TRS, will have advantage in 17 seats in the region (4 more seats if 2 Rayalseema districts are added)
YSR CONG | Jagan likely to emerge strong in coastal region as sole opponent to Telangana. So long he doesn't go with BJP, can support Congress directly or indirectly
TDP | Naidu's party already in bad shape for doing 'yes-no' on Telangana. Now will be thrown off balance: strong neither in new state or coastal region
BJP | May lose if Telangana euphoria and gratitude to Cong overwhelm its consistent support for new state. Not a big player in coastal areas WHAT NEXT1 GoM will be set up to consider issues like territorial boundaries and status of Hyderabad as joint capital 2 GoM recommendations go to cabinet in form of a bill3 After Cabinet approval, home ministry will send bill to President for consent 4President under Art 3 will seek opinion of state legislature 5 Once legislature gives its opinion, President will approve bill for introduction in Parliament 6 Parliament needs to approve the bill by simple majority 7 President then gives assent to legislation and India's 29th state will be notifi ed Cong eyes Telangana sweep of 17 seats
    Pieces of the puzzle were fast falling in place when TRS chief Chandrashekhar Rao said that he was a man of his word. Political circles estimate that the Congress calculation is to sweep the Telangana region, which has 17 Lok Sabha seats, in alliance with the TRS. The numbers of Lok Sabha seats which the party can hope to win will swell to 21 if the districts of Ananthpur and Kurnool are clubbed with Telangana: a huge improvement for the party which had appeared to be a washout in the state.
    Giving its nod to the division of AP after consultations with UPA partners, the CWC said that the Centre should take steps to form a separate state of Telangana. It said that the Centre should institute a mechanism "to address the concerns of Andhra and Rayalseema on sharing of river waters, power and security of citizens". The CWC also said the Polavaram Irrigation Project should be declared a national project.
    The Congress is expected to act expeditiously in order to reap the goodwill in the Telangana region. There are indications that the Union Cabinet may decide on Thursday to request the President to ask the Andhra Pradesh legislature to adopt a resolution spelling out where it stands on the issue of bifurcation.
    The resolution of the state assembly will not be binding. Under the Constitution, the power to create new states and alter the boundaries of existing ones rests solely with Parliament.
    The Congress's anxiety to clinch the issue swiftly was evident from the way AICC general secretaries Digvijay Singh and Ajay Maken sought to showcase steps taken by their party for the creation of Telangana. These included, the announcement of December 9, 2009, something which the party had virtuallydumped in the face of resentment from the anti-Telangana camp.
    Though Congress leaders concede the breakaway faction led by Jagan Mohan will remain the dominant formation in coastal and Rayalseema regions, they are banking on his desire to keep a distance from the BJP as well as legal troubles to hope that Jagan Mohan Reddy will not be averse to doing business post-poll. Anti-Telangana group's last-ditch efforts fails
New Delhi: The 'united Andhra' camp of Union ministers and MPs made a last-ditch effort to stall the formation of Telangana, urging the leadership to debate the Srikrishna Commission report in Parliament before any announcement. Comprising ministers K S Rao, Chiranjeevi, D Purandeshwari and Panabaka Lakshmi, the group petitioned Congress general secretary in-charge of Andhra affairs Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday morning. However, Singh is reported to have said, "It is too late, this is a late reaction from your side." TNN