Cabinet approves Telangana as 29th state, Seemandhra erupts in protest

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New Delhi, Oct 3, 2013 :  The cabinet today cleared major steps for carving out a separate Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad will be shared for 10 years as the capital of the old and new state. Union ministers Pallam Raju and K Chiranjeevi threaten to quit; Mr Raju was dissuaded by PM, sources said. Protests against the decision have begun in Seemandhra region.

 

 

Here are the latest updates:

    The Union Cabinet today approved a note prepared by the Home Ministry that outlines the plan for how Andhra Pradesh will be bifurcated to create India’s 29th state, Telangana.

   
The Rayalaseema and Seemandhra regions in Andhra Pradesh - referred to as ’Seemandhra’ - erupted in protest soon after the announcement. All vehicles have been banned from going to Tirupati temple. Commercial establishments in Vijaywada city will remain closed for two days.

   
Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress has also called for a 72-hour bandh across Andhra Pradesh against the decision. He said he wasn’t pained by his 16-month jail term as much as he is pained by the decision to divide the state. (Read)

   
Sources said Union ministers Pallam Raju, K Chiranjeevi and Kotla Surya Prakash Reddy have threatened to resign over the decision. (Chiranjeevi offers to resign)

   
"Five crore people have been on agitation for 60 days, yet the Cabinet decided to create Telangana. I offered to resign but PM told me not act in haste," Mr Raju said.

   
The cabinet approved the setting up of a group of ministers who will be assigned to figure out how to divide water, power and revenue between the two states. The group of ministers will also examine special financial assistance for Andhra Pradesh after Telangana is carved out, said Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, promising "fundamental rights" for people from all three parts of the state.

   
The Cabinet’s resolution on the creation of Telangana will be sent to President Pranab Mukherjee, with the recommendation that he refer it to the Andhra Pradesh state legislature

   
Though the Andhra Pradesh Assembly is meant to provide feedback on the resolution, the Centre is not obliged to accept its opinion.

   
In Hyderabad, ministers from Seemandhra have said they will ensure that the resolution is not passed by the state legislature. They have the support of Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy who is also from Seemandhra.

   
Hyderabad will start out as a shared capital for 10 years, after which it will belong to Telangana, said the Home Minister. Who gets to keep the prosperous IT hub has been a major headline of the controversial decision.

 

Chiranjeevi resigns as minister over Telangana decision

Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi tonight resigned from his post in protest against the Union Cabinet’s approval of the formation of separate Telangana, his aide said.

The actor-turned-politician has faxed his resignation to the Prime Minister’s Office, his personal assistant said. Chiranjeevi, who hails from Coastal Andhra, felt anguished over the way the protests in Seemandhra regions, going on for over two months, against the division of Andhra Pradesh were handled.

He has come under intense pressure from the united-Andhra supporters in the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions following the Congress Working Committee’s endorsement of separate Telangana demand on July 30.

The united-Andhra supporters have often demanded that Chiranjeevi quit his post to mount pressure on the Congress leadership towards halting the division of Andhra Pradesh.