India carves out a new state of Telangana

A tv-grab of the press conference by Mr. Digvijay Singh, the in-charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs and Mr. Ajay Maken, AICC general secretary announcing Congress party's decision to create a separate state of Telangana (right). Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is seen  walking into the CWC meeting on the left.

India’s Congress party, the major partner in the ruling coalition, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) headed by Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh has finally recommended the cabinet to create a separate state of Telangana bifurcating South India’s largest state, Andhra Pradesh. Addressing a press conference soon after the meeting of the party's august decision making body, Congress Working Committee (CWC), its general secretary Mr. Ajay Maken and the in-charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs, Mr. Digvijay Singh revealed that CWC has unanimously voted in favor of the creation of a separate state and the new Telangana state constitutes the same ten districts of the erstwhile Hyderabad state that were merged with the then Andhra state to form Andhra Pradesh in 1956 with Hyderabad as its capital. The city of Hyderabad, the bone of contention between the two states and the Information Technology hotbed however will act as the common capital for 10 years to both states. The new capital will be identified thereafter for the rest of Andhra Pradesh. The constitutional process for the new state becoming a reality may take anywhere between four to five months and the new Telangana state when formed will be the 29^th in the Union of States of India. This also puts an end to the six-decade-old struggle for the demand of a separate state by the people of Telangana.                                                                                                      Listen to the podcast below.