Singling out Andhra

The Telangana Bill raises many questions

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, has moved forward like a juggernaut despite determined protests inside and outside Parliament. Even the interim Budget speech on Monday was delivered by a finance minister with three burly Congress parliamentarians from Tamil Nadu standing by his side throughout; in the background, strident shouts in support of a united Andhra Pradesh could continually be heard. The Congress party and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) leadership should ask itself: has its support for the creation of Telangana in this manner, missing out on possible processes and making a special case of it, been worth the continual disruption of its legislative agenda?

Whatever the merits of the formation of a new state, the fervent opposition within the political system can be relatively easily explained. Money is made in cities; in Andhra Pradesh, it's made in Hyderabad. Were the rump of Andhra Pradesh - generally called Seemandhra now - to lose control of Hyderabad, the costs to several would be severe. This perhaps explains the anger of the businessman-politician Lagadapati Rajagopal, who produced and used pepper spray in the Lok Sabha last week. His Lanco group, with major investments in real estate in power, would lose a great deal if Hyderabad were no longer his bailiwick. Yet, regardless of objectors' motivations, the simple fact is that by making a special case of Telangana - by, essentially, saying that the Union Cabinet can create a new state and Parliament can make it law, and no other real processes are required - the government has contributed to the anger. Nobody likes a fait accompli. Equally, nobody likes the sense that they are being singled out. And the people and politicians of Seemandhra can justifiably say they have been singled out.

From the beginning, a second States Reorganisation Commission that looked at the administrative arguments for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh as well as several other states - especially Uttar Pradesh, so large as to be ungovernable - was the better option. Instead, in search of quick political gains, the UPA chose to avoid this process. The consequences of this decision are visible for all to see. Politically, too, the Congress will almost certainly be wiped out in Seemandhra. Its pursuit of Jagan Mohan Reddy appears to have further embittered the son of Andhra Pradesh's former Congress chief minister; he launched a personal attack on the Congress president on Monday. And, even in the seats that comprise Telangana, it is far from certain whether the Congress will benefit from the decision. The Telangana Bill is yet to be passed by the Rajya Sabha. Were it to fail there, the situation can be recovered by the next government - or by this one before it leaves office. A States Reorganisation Commission that would allow voices from both parts of Andhra Pradesh to be heard - and to feel that they are part of a larger process and not being focused on unfairly - could still happen. Without that, the bitterness will endure.