UPA panel approves creation of Telangana

The UPA coordination committee Tuesday approved creation of a separate state of Telangana by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh, informed sources here said.

The sources said the United Progressive Alliance has decided in favour of Telangana at a meeting held at the prime minister's official residence and attended by leaders of constituent parties like the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party, National Conference and the Rashtriya Lok Dal.

The UPA coordination committee meeting is being followed by a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's highest decision-making authority, that is expected to take the final decision about carving out Telangana.

Human Resource Development Minister M.M. Pallam Raju had indicated earlier that the Congress leadership was inclined towards taking a decision in favour of a separate Telangana state.