There are indications in the national capital that the Congress high command has already taken a decision to create a Rayala Telangana State, combining Anantapur and Kurnool districts of the Rayalaseema region with the existing Telangana districts to create new State.
A meeting of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Coordination Committee was reportedly called on Monday to take the Congress allies on board before any announcement is made in this regard.
Meanwhile the party leadership has been facing pressure to create Telangana from one side and not to divide it on the other.
Although there has been no official confirmation of the Monday meeting, it is evident that creation of Telangana will not be a cake-walk for the ruling UPA.
The statement of State Minor Irrigation Minister T G Venkatesh confirmed reports that Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy might resign, if the State were to be divided.
Reports have already said that Kiran had made it clear to the party high command, especially to the party supremo Sonia Gandhi, that he would not be a party to the division of the State. There is also pressure from the ministers of the Seemandhra region against division of the Rayalaseema region.
Towards this end, some 15 ministers wrote to Sonia Gandhi on Saturday threatening to resign if Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated.
The agitating ministers also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
It may be recalled that the five-decade struggle for a Telangana State gathered fresh impetus with an aggressive campaign by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi headed by K Chandrasekhara Rao .
In 2009, he went on fast 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 stepped back on its declaration. Months of violent protests followed from the other two regions, forcing the Centre to suspend its decision.
The main contention of the leaders of both the regions is about the status of Hyderabad and its robust IT-driven economy. Telangana wants to claim Hyderabad as its State capital.
As a compromise, the Centre is reportedly in favour of making the city a joint capital between the new and old States for the next five or 10 years .
—————-NSS