With Telangana State clearing the final hurdle in the Rajya Sabha and only the formality of the President of India giving his assent remaining, all eyes are on the formal inauguration of the new State of Telangana.
With no immediate end to the political crisis in sight, outgoing Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has been asked to officiate as a caretaker till alternate arrangements were made. In a notification issued by Raj Bhavan, the Governor announced that he had accepted the resignation of the Chief Minister. In another notification he said that Kiran Kumar Reddy will continue to hold the office till alternate arrangements were made.
The Governor has also sent a report to the Centre on the resignation of Reddy. Andhra Pradesh situation came up for discussion in the meetings of the Congress Core Committee as well as the Congress Working Committee on Friday.
The Congress party is now gearing up to take the credit for the historic decision to carve out Telangana. Even as Congress leaders in Telangana have fanned out in the region and unleashed a publicity blitz with hoarding and advertisements thanking party president Sonia Gandhi, the Prime Minister told the lok Sabha on the last day of the session that the it proved that the country has decision-making power. “Telangana is a proof of the decision-making power of the country,” he said.
Union Minister Jairam Ramesh, who as the member of the Group of Ministers on Telangana said that the division of Andhra Pradesh would become official after the announcement of appointed-day when there will be two Chief Ministers, two Chief Secretaries and the two Directors General of Police.
He said the Bill would now be sent to the President for issuing a gazette notification. He recalled that Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand had become separate States within three months of the appointed day. “Two committees will oversee the allocation of the Government employees between the two States,” the Minister said. He denied any violation of the Constitution in the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Bill and said that it was drafted keeping in view the interest of Seemandhra region. “The criticism that we have neglected the interest of Seemandhra is baseless,” he said.
“If Telangana was given six point formula, the Prime Minister has now given a six-point commitment to Seemandhra,” he said. Giving an example, he said that the present system of admissions in the higher educational institutions would continue in the two States. “Giving status of national project to Polavaram is also a significant commitment for the region,” he said. While Seemandhra was still seething with anger, celebrations were continuing across Telangana. Martyrs’ Memorial near the State Assembly had become a focal point for the celebrations where common people as well as the leaders of various political parties and mass organisations gathered to pay tributes to the martyrs of the region.
Popular folk singer of the region Gaddar who wrote the inspiring songs including “Poru Telanganama, Kotlaadi Pranama” also performed at the memorial and paid tributes in his own way. There were leaders and workers of the Congress, BJP, TRS and other groups who milled with the crowd. Flags of different parties and the powder sprinkled all around added to the colour. Meanwhile, Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu, who had so far desisted from welcoming the formation of Telangana, tried to make an amendment.