New Delhi:
The Congress Working Committee's resolution asking the Centre to create India's 29th state, Telangana, came after a series of meetings held through the day by top Congress leaders to propitiate those in the party - mainly from the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions - who are opposed to the decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh for the new state.
Following are the 10 big facts in the story:
The Congress calculates that the big Telangana announcement will bring it political benefits in the national elections just months away. The party has seen immediate gains from talks about a separate Telangana in panchayat election results out in Andhra Pradesh today - the Congress has won 4,342 sarpanch posts and the Telugu Desam Party trails with 4,275.
The Congress, which had a false start four years ago when it had to backtrack on a decision to create Telangana because of violent protests in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, was better prepared this time. Before the announcement, the party leadership called up all 19 MPs from these regions. Many of them are central ministers like Pallam Raju and Chiranjeevi, who voiced their worries today, but said they would not resign in protest.
15 MPs who met Congress president Sonia Gandhi today were assured that all their concerns on fair distribution of resources et al would be addressed in the modalities of forming the new state.
But all opposition has not been quelled. Rudraraju Padmaraju, the Congress' chief whip in the Andhra Pradesh legislative council, said in strong words that were resonant of the deep dissatisfaction in the non-Telanagana regions about bifurcating the state, "we are swallowing poison for the cause of the Congress party. The decision is very unfortunate... but since our leader has taken the decision... at this juncture no other option but to follow party decision."
Congress MLAs from Rayalaseema will meet in Hyderabad tomorrow to discuss their "future course of action". The state's Minor Irrigation Minister T G Venkatesh did not rule out leaders from Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra quitting their posts on Telangana issue. He said this would be among issues discussed tomorrow, PTI reports.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, who met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister before the CWC meet, left for Hyderabad before the Telangana announcement was made. Mr Reddy, who belongs to Rayalaseema, is opposed to his state being split, but has reportedly been convinced not to resign.
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS, which has spearheaded the movement for a separate Telangana in the last few years, had warned the Congress earlier in the day that there would be "severe resistance" against making Hyderabad a shared capital. The Congress' Telangana formula suggests the two states will share Hyderabad as capital for 10 years after which, it will be part of Telangana. TRS leader KT Rama Rao said he was "happy", but needed to check the fine print.
Protests demanding a "united Andhra" have been intensifying in the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions and the Centre has sent additional paramilitary forces to the two regions.
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said today, "Law and order situation in Andhra Pradesh is absolutely fine."
The five-decade struggle for a Telangana state was forced onto the contemporary national agenda in 2009 by the TRS, headed by K Chandrasekhara Rao. He fasted for 10 days, triggering huge rallies of support. In response, in December 2009, in a surprise announcement, the Centre said it was sanctioning statehood. But within days, the government backtracked as violent protests erupted in the other two regions - Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema.
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