TRS chief meets PM for hastening process of Telangana creation

New Delhi, May 9 (UNI) In an effort to muster support for creation of Telangana state, Telangana Rashtra Samiti Chief K Chandrashekhara Rao today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss expediting the process of the creation of the state currently pending before the UPA panel, headed by Defence Minister Pranab Kumar Mukherjee.

Talking to newspersons after half an hour long meeting with Prime Minister and his cabinet colleague A Narendra and TRS MPs, Mr Rao said that Dr Singh told him that he was awaiting the report of the Mukherjee Committee, which expected to submit it in a few days time. The indications are that this panel is meeting in the next few days for taking a decision on the TRS demand.

The delegation also told the Prime Minister that the passage of the Telangana Bill was not a problem since all major political parties including Congress and BJP and host of small political parties favoured creation of Telangana.

Asked when he would expect the Bill to come up before Parliament, Mr Rao, who is also a Union Labour Minister, said knowing the process and procedures involved, he would not expect it to come up before the Mansoon Session of the Parliament.

Once the UPA panel gives its report the bill would go to the Cabinet for its approval and then it would be sent to Andhra Pradesh government for its vies on the bill within 30 days, he said.

To a question whether there would be any opposition to the bill in the Parliament, Mr Rao said there could be no total consensus on any issue but his feeling was that majority of parties were in favour of creation of Telangana.

The passage of the Constitutional amendment is possible if the Congress and the BJP supported the Bill.

Asked what would happen if the Andhra Pradesh assembly were to reject the Telangana Bill, Prof Jai Shankar, a member of the delegation and part of the TRS think tank, said that once the Cabinet takes a decision on the formation of the state, the views of the assembly would have little impact as it was in the case of Maharashtra Assembly which rejected the creation of Gujarat state.

The Centre went ahead with its decision and created Gujarat notwithstanding the opposition from Maharashtra, he said.

Meanwhile, political parties in Parliament are divided on the issue of creation of Telangana with Telugu Desam, CPI-M and Revolutionary Socialist Party expressing their views against the move, while parties like Rashtriya Janata Dal, Nationalist Congress Party of Sharad Pawar, Janata Dal (United), Janata Dal (Secular), Lok Janshakti support the creation of the new state.

The BJP which hitherto was insisting on unanimous resolution from the Andhra Pradesh assembly has now changed its track saying that it would support the bill brought by the Congress and the TRS for creation of Telangana.

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