GOOD MORNING TELANGANA - RS OKAYS T BILL; PM ANNOUNCES SPL PACKAGE FOR SEEMANDHRA

New Delhi: Telangana crossed a major hurdle on the route to becoming Indias 29th state with Parliament approving the Bill to divide Andhra Pradesh in the face of repeated adjournments and continuous disruptions and sloganeering. It was 8.05 pm when Rajya Sabha deputy chair PJ Kurien finally declared the Bill is passed,setting off raucous celebrations among Telangana supporters in the House and in the Central Hall where Lok Sabha MPs from the region crowded around TV sets.The announcement was greeted with loud cheers in Hyderabad as Parliaments seal of approval makes the Telangana story practically irreversible as presidential assent and notification by gazette are expected to be matters of procedure with few variables.

Political jockeying over Telangana has seen the pendulum swing wildly with Congresss indecision putting the statehood proposal on the backburner for much of the 15th Lok Sabha,until the wheel turned afresh in the last few months.The bitter opposition of Seemandhra MPs,supported by some regional parties,led to extraordinary scenes with a cordon of Congress MPs shielding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday against aggressive Telangana opponents. In a first,tourism minister Chiranjeevi stood up to soundly criticize the Telangana decision for being forced upon the state a criticism of the council of ministers of which he is himself a part.

The suspense over the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Bill,2014,came to an end with the Prime Minister announcing a six-point development package for the successor state of Andhra Pradesh,including grant of special category status that provides for tax incentives to Seemandhra. As Singh rose to make his intervention,he was cordoned off by Congress MPs as members from Seemandhra region as also those from Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena stormed the Well with TMC members even tearing papers and throwing them on the floor.

Congress president Sonia Gandhis request to the Prime Minister to give special category status to Seemandhra for five years seems to have apparently clinched the issue and brought BJP on board. I hope these additional announcements will demonstrate our steadfast commitment to not just the creation of Telangana but also to the continued prosperity and welfare of Seemandhra, Singh noted. He said special category status will be extended to the 13 Seemandhra districts,including the four districts of Rayalaseema and the three districts of north coastal Andhra,for five years.This will put the states finances on a firmer footing, the PM said in a written statement at the end of the discussion on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha.

Pro-Telangana activists celebrate after Rajya Sabha passed the AP Reorganisation Bill,at Gun Park in city on Thursday      

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KCR harps on harmony,cagey about merger                                           

New Delhi: Minutes after the Rajya Sabha passed the Telangana Bill,an elated TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao said he would meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi in person and thank her for carving out the new state,but remained cagey about whether his party would merge with the Congress. Please do not ask me any questions today as it is not the occasion to talk about politics or further plans.I will be staying back in Delhi for a few more days and meeting Sonia and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to thank them for granting Telangana, the TRS chief told the media at his Tughlaq Road residence.

At his press conference on Thursday,KCR said now that two states are being formed both should develop in harmony.Hyderabad should grow as an international cosmopolitan city.So far,we have been squabbling.But now,the people of Seemandhra region are part of Hyderabad and so are the Telangana people.Let us work together to develop the joint capital.The Telugus of the two states should move forward and prove that they are second to none in India, he said.While KCR did not want to talk about the merger,a leader close to him said there is a 90% chance of the merger taking place.However,KCR will take the opinion of all party leaders,majority of whom are of the view that the party should not go for a merger but strike an alliance with the Congress, he said.

One reason why KCR and the other TRS leaders may be hesitating for a merger is because he wants to have the final say on the number of seats his party wants to contest.The Congress wants to take the lions share of the Lok Sabha seats and give the larger chunk of the assembly seats to the TRS.However,the latter wants a big share in the Lok Sabah seats apart from the assembly seats.

KCR                    

 (SOURCE - TOI)