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Centre gives in: Telangana to be a separate state

DNMUM156251 | 12/10/2009 | Author : KV Ramana | WC :246 | India

TRS chief ends fast after Congress relents on statehood issue

Bowing to pressure from the protagonists and foot soldiers of the Telangana movement, the Centre late on Wednesday set in motion the process to carve out a separate Telangana state.
Days of high drama in New Delhi as well as Hyderabad came to a close when Union home minister P Chidambaram read out the Centre's intent at 11.15pm. "The process of forming the state of Telangana will be initiated. An appropriate resolution will be moved in the state assembly," he said. The Centre also expressed its willingness to drop all cases against Telangana activists booked since November 29.
Soon after the announcement, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K Chandrasekhara Rao ended his fast unto death — started 11 days ago — at about 12.30am on Thursday. Fighting tears, he thanked all the MPs who had supported the demand for a separate state.
Chidambaram's open-ended statement is likely to create a need for several clarifications. However, the Telangana region started celebrating minutes after the announcement.
The student unions spearheading the movement had set a December 9 deadline for the Andhra Pradesh (AP) assembly to pass a Telangana statehood resolution. With the deadline ending and Rao's health deteriorating, the Congress was pushed to a corner.
The Congress core committee met at 5pm on Wednesday but did not take any decision. But the panel — comprising Sonia Gandhi, law minister Veerappa Moily, finance minister Pranab Mukherje...

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