GoM on Telangana fails to finalise report, to meet again on Wednesday
Discussions on new state remain inconclusive; panel to meet again on Wednesday.
New Delhi: The GoM on Telangana on Tuesday could not finalise its report and the draft bill on the separate state as discussions remained inconclusive and decided to meet again on Wednesday before submitting them to the Union Cabinet.
"We had detailed discussions. We thought report will be finalised. But discussions are inconclusive. We will meet tomorrow at 8 PM," Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters after the GoM meeting.
Shinde said the ministerial panel was trying to bring the Andhra Pradesh bifurcation bill in Parliament as soon as possible but there are a number of issues to be sorted out.
The Group of Ministers, in its meeting on Tuesday discussed issues related to providing special status to both the states under Article 371-D of the Constitution and believed to have examined a proposal to include two districts of Rayalseema in Telangana.
However, the process of finalising the report and the draft bill remained inconclusive.
The GoM meeting, chaired by Shinde, was attended by Union Ministers A.K. Antony, P. Chidambaram and Ghulam Nabi Azad among others.
The Ministerial panel's meeting was also attended by top officials, including National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami.
Shortly after the meeting of the GoM, a delegation of Union ministers from Andhra Pradesh, including HRD Minister M. Pallam Raju, who are opposed to bifurcation of the state, made a presentation before Shinde as a last ditch effort to stall the division.
The GoM is expected to recommend that the draft Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill should be named as Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Bill, thus avoiding an amendment in the Constitution but allowing both the states to enjoy special status, official sources said.
Article 371-D, which was inserted through 32nd Amendment in 1973, empowers the President to issue orders from time to time providing for equitable opportunities for people belonging to different parts of the state.