Hyderabad:
It's the first piece of good news in a really long time for the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister. 13 of his ministers, all from Telangana, have said they're rejoining his cabinet. They had resigned earlier this week over the issue of a new state for Telangana.
The ministers are back on board after the Centre announced talks on the new state on the 5th of January. Home Minister P Chidambaram has invited major political parties to send their representatives for the discussion on how to create a Telangana state.
The lack of political consensus on the issue of a new state has hit the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh, and at the centre. K Rosaiah, the chief minister, has watched in horror as several of his MLAs quit the Assembly. 13 Ministers followed. They said they would not rejoin him till the Centre announces a schedule for the formation of the new state.
Earlier this month, the government okayed a new state after a series of protests by pro-Telangana campaigners, including K Chandrasekhar Rao, or KCR, as he's known. The chief minister was promised by opposition parties that they would back a resolution for a new state.
However, the minute the Centre greenlit a Telangana state, more than a 100 MLAs from non-Telangana regions quit the Assembly. As Andhra Pradesh plunged into a political crisis, the Centre was forced to announce that any plans to form a new state were on hold till a consensus was reached.
That provoked bandhs by the other camp -KCR backed by student groups, and political representatives from most local parties including Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party or TDP. They say the Centre cannot reverse its decision now.
KCR has confirmed that he will attend the round of talks in January. But a spokesperson for his party, the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) has warned that "The Centre's initiative is just the first step.. It is the agenda that will be most important." KCR has also demanded that the agenda for the meeting be shared in advance.
The fight over Telangana has hit business too. Rosaiah has warned that the constant bandhs and protests have hit tourism.
According to Andhra Pradesh's Director General of Police Girish Kumar, the state has suffered losses worth Rs 15 crore in Telangana-related incidents since the agitation began a month ago.