The proposal to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh and turn the 10 districts of Telangana into India's 29th state has created a huge chasm among the state's politicians and people.
The bill that proposes the split was sent by President Pranab Mukherjee to the Andhra Pradesh assembly for review earlier this month; it is meant to be sent back to him by Friday. But the Chief Minister and others say they want at least four more weeks a detailed discussion.
Tomorrow, the Chief Minister also hopes that the state legislature will adopt a resolution condemning the bill. If that happens, it will be complicated for the President to clear the same bill for discussion and vote in parliament in the session that starts February 5. The Congress will also find it hard to muster support among other parties for a bill that has been rejected by the state whose map it changes.
This is the last time that Parliament will meet before the national elections, so if the Telangana proposal is not cleared, Andhra Pradesh will be undivided for the national polls.
That will rescue politicians like the Chief Minister who belong to the non-Telangana regions of Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra, which will form the residuary state. Residents of "Seemandhra" as the two regions are together referred to are worried about receiving less water and power than they have so far.
Telangana, on the other hand, has been arguing for decades that its resources are unfairly exploited by "Seemandhra".
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