HYDERABAD: The sub-committee of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) which was constituted to go into the demand for Statehood to Telangana will meet next month to take a look into the whole issue.

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is chairman of the UPA sub-committee, told reporters here on Thursday that the panel would meet in the first half of May by which time elections to five State Assemblies would be over and Parliament would be in session. All the members-- Dayanidhi Maran, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and himself-- were presently busy with elections.

Responding to a question on the divided opinion on the issue of separate Telangana, he said a number of parties were in favour while a number of others were opposed, including the entire Left bloc and the Samajwadi Party, who constituted a substantial number in Parliament.

Asked for his response to BJP president Rajnath Singh's announcement supporting separate Telangana, Mr. Mukherjee said the party had not formally communicated its stand to the sub-committee in spite of two reminders. "Let them formulate their viewpoint first. It will become a public document for a wider debate," he said.

Mr. Mukherjee declined to spell out his stand on Telangana since he was chairman of a multi-member committee.

The Defence Minister also said a decision would be taken within the parameters of two principles already agreed upon by all UPA partners. First, the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) was clear that the issue would be considered on the basis of "consensus" and efforts be made to build the same among all parties.

Second, a resolution of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in October 2000 that the matter be referred to the Second States Reorganisation Committee (SRC) stood substituted with the CMP coming into the picture.

He said the CWC resolution was submitted to the then NDA Government but former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani shot it down saying there was no necessity for the second SRC. The Government did not contemplate any other State except Uttaranchal, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh for which it was committed.

It was in this background that the formula evolved by the UPA had become sacrosanct for all the allies.

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