Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao said he had reliable information that the Central government was exploring the possibility of tagging Kurnool and Anantapur districts with Telangana for the purpose of bifurcation of the State.
Soliciting the views of the media in an informal chat here on Wednesday, Mr. Rao said the proposal was also discussed by Majlis–e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi when they met here on Tuesday. The MIM, as also the political leaders of Kurnool and Anantapur, were not opposed to the idea for different reasons. The MIM did not differ because the two districts had a sizeable Muslim population. On the other hand, the leaders of Kurnool and Anantapur always wanted to go with Telangana to get the benefit of a river basin (Godavari), he added.
The TRS president said he had inputs that the Centre had come to an understanding on Telangana, but Hyderabad was the bone of contention.
An offer
PTI reports:
Addressing a meeting of non-teaching staff of private colleges in Telangana earlier, Mr. Rao said he would not be surprised if the Centre conceded statehood to the region in one or two months.
To placate anti-Telangana groups, Mr. Rao has said Hyderabad could be a shared capital for two States for a “limited period” in the event of division of Andhra Pradesh, if that was an acceptable solution.
“They [non-Telangana regions] can live happily if a separate state is created. The Centre can give them a package. Shared capital [Hyderabad] can be a possibility for a limited period of time. They can run their administration in Hyderabad until a new capital and infrastructure are developed for them,” he told PTI here.
