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Govt panel on T
The UPA government will be setting up a committee that would address the concerns of all political parties on the Seemandhra region regarding the creation of a separate state of Telangana. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday stated, “The Antony Committee is addressing the concerns of those affected. The Government will also be setting up a Committee.”
Sonia rules out early polls
The UPA government will be setting up a committee that would address the concerns of all political parties on the Seemandhra region regarding the creation of a separate state of Telangana. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday stated, “The Antony Committee is addressing the concerns of those affected. The Government will also be setting up a Committee.”
Sonia Gandhi, however, did not elaborate what sort of committee she meant. Sources stated that the TDP and other parties had demanded the setting-up of a Government Committee that could address the concerns of all the political parties. Since Antony Committee was meant only for the Congress members, the other parties could not appear before it to air their grievances or seek clarifications on it. Talking to media persons after the inauguration of the National Media Centre, Sonia Gandhi ruled out early elections, saying, “Our aim is to go till the end.” When asked whether UPA-III would be a reality, she said, “Certainly, 100 per cent.”
In reply to another question on the USP of the UPA government, the UPA chairperson said, “Obviously, so many rights we have given. It is our Right to Information, Right to Education and now Right to Food is our USP.” The Congress is in no hurry to go to polls as it is keen to translate into reality its flagship programmes, including the Food Security programme which will be debated on Monday and is expected to be passed in the ongoing Monsoon Session of parliament.
The government would prefer to roll-out the Food Security and Direct Benefit Transfer schemes completely to reap electoral dividends, before the elections. Similarly, on Telangana, the government wants the Bill to be passed in the Winter Session after addressing the concerns of the Seemandhra people. Keeping in mind the timeframe required to formalise the creation of Telangana, it wants to hold the elections on schedule, instead of opting for early polls. Union Science & Technology Minister S Jaipal Reddy confided to this paper that the Telangana Bill would certainly be passed during the Winter Session of parliament.
It is learnt that the Cabinet Note is expected to be readied even as the concerns of the Seemandhra people are being looked into by the government. As stated by Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the Rajya Sabha, the government will take lesser time than what it took for the formation of the three new states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand. According to sources, it takes 215 days to complete the process of state formation and the Centre is confident of forming the new state of Telangana within 4-5 months.
ANITA SALUJA
