Telangana bill in winter session: Shinde

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde Thursday said the bill for the creation of the new state of Telangana will be tabled in parliament during its winter session, beginning Dec 5.

Shinde's remarks indicated that the government has expedited the process of creating the new state by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.

Shinde earlier had been non-committal on the issue of the bill coming up in parliament in the winter session.

The Group of Ministers set up to look into the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh has held a series of meetings with different stakeholders, including political parties, from the state.

The ministerial group, headed by Shinde, Monday held talks with secretaries of eight departments. The departments have already submitted their reports after going through over 18,000 suggestions received from people, public representatives and political parties.

The panel will submit its recommendations to the central cabinet. A draft bill for the formation of a separate Telangana state is likely to be sent to the Andhra Pradesh assembly by the month-end.