Andhra puzzle: What's in a name? Well, a lot...

Hyderabad, July 29: What will be the names of the two states in case the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh becomes a reality? Seemandhra and Rayala Telangana, the two names popularised by the media, have been mentioned in Justice B N Srikrishna Committee report.

According to a report published in the Deccan Chronicle, the Centre is likely to take up the issue of naming the states once the Congress announces the final decision and asks the UPA government to divide the state.

The issue of naming the state has always been a disputed one. The supporters of Telangana accused their counterparts in the Andhra region in the past for removing the name 'Telangana' at the time of merging it with Andhra Pradesh in 1956. Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leaders said that the state was originally named Telanaganandhra Pradesh but the Andhra leaders tampered with it.

The TRS leadership has also opposed the name of Rayala Telangana, saying it was not acceptable with the inclusion of just two Rayalaseema districts in the new state. In fact, it has questioned the very inclusion of the two districts.

The report said that the name Hyderabad was also doing the rounds in New Delhi but Andhra leaders of the Congress warned against it, saying it would ignite the old memories of the Nizam's rule.

The Andhra leaders are also against putting the name 'Seema' before Andhra. They said the second state will have nine districts from the Andhra region and just two from the Rayalaseema region and that the name 'Seema' could be used as a suffix or the name 'Andhra Pradesh' could be retained.

OneIndia News