Hyderabad joint capital for 10 years
New Delhi/Hyderabad: Telangana is all set to become India’s 29th state as the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Tuesday urged the government to take constitutional steps in this regard.
The new state will comprise of 10 districts including Hyderabad, which will be the common capital for 10 years, during which period the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh will build its own capital.
The CWC, the highest decision making body of the Congress, passed a resolution after the UPA co-ordination committee endorsed statehood for Telangana earlier in the day.
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said the new state will come into being in four to five months.
Congress spokesman Ajay Maken said the CWC meeting was presided over by party president Sonia Gandhi and attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh among others. Both strongly pitched for Telangana.
Dr Singh told the meeting that the formation of Telangana was very much required “for the development of the entire Andhra region”.
“It is resolved to request the Central government to take steps to form a separate state of Telangana,” Maken said, reading from the resolution.
Digvijaya Singh said the issue would go to the Andhra Pradesh assembly, whose resolution will be sent to the union cabinet, which will appoint a group of ministers to look into issues relating to sharing of water, electricity and safety and security of all three regions of the state.
The CWC decision followed protracted discussions in the party following divisions between its leaders in Andhra Pradesh favouring statehood to Telangana and those opposed to it.
Celebrations broke out in Telangana after the Congress leaders announced the decision. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) and other groups were jubilant. (Agencies)