New Delhi, December 4
The Union Cabinet will tomorrow discuss the report on Telangana and the draft Bill to create the new state as the GoM completed its work tonight and is believed to have recommended merger of two districts of Rayalseema with the proposed state.

After an hour-long meeting, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters that the GoM has “completed the process and the Cabinet will discuss the recommendations tomorrow”.

Sources said the GoM was understood to have recommended merger of two districts of Rayalseema-Kurnool and Anantpur-with the proposed Telangana despite strong opposition from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and some Congress leaders. Both Kurnool and Anantpur have proximity to Hyderabad and have a sizeable Muslim population.

However, a final decision on the issue will be taken by the Cabinet tomorrow.

If the proposal is accepted, undivided Andhra Pradesh would be divided equally and the two states would get 21 Lok Sabha seats each, 147 seats each in the Assembly and 45 in the Legislative Council. The Group of Ministers, in its meeting, fine-tuned issues related to distribution of assets, sharing of water, demarcation of boundaries and divisions of officer cadre.

The GoM is believed to have recommended providing special status to both states under Article 371-D of the Constitution.

The issue of Hyderabad continues to be contentious as Seemandhra leaders are demanding protection of lives and property of Seemandhra people settled in Hyderabad after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. One of the options is to hand over law and order responsibility and the Revenue Department to the Central Government under a special provision of the Constitution.

The GoM meeting, chaired by Shinde, was attended by Union Ministers AK Antony, P Chidambaram and M Verappa Moily among others.

The GoM is said to have recommend that the draft Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill should be named as Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Bill, thus allowing both states to enjoy special status without an amendment in the Constitution, official sources said. — PTI