What to do with Hyderabad if Andhra Pradesh is bifurcated to create Telangana?
This is the hurdle the Congress and the UPA-II government seems to be facing as the party president Sonia Gandhi took up the Telangana issue at her residence for a discussion with seniors in the party as well as the UPA government.
This comes close on the heels of an all-party meeting on the subject held by Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde here on December 28, last year, after which he had announced that the decision on Telangana would be announced in one month.
Additional in-charge of party’s Andhra Pradesh unit and Overseas Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, who too was present in the consultation meeting, told The Hindu that no final decision had been taken on the issue.
Sources said the discussions focused on the pros and cons of accepting or refusing the separate State demand. Hyderabad has become the latest controversy as the Telangana protagonists wanted it to be continued as the capital of Telangana, while those who are fighting for a united Andhra Pradesh, wanted it to be declared as Union Territory, a la Chandigarh (capital for both Punjab and Haryana).
Significantly the discussion on Telangana has come up a day before a meeting of Telangana leaders including MPs in Hyderabad to decide on the future course of action.
Apart from Mr. Shinde and Mr. Ravi, other party seniors who attended the meeting were A.K. Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel, Digvijay Singh and P. Chidambaram.
