10 things to know about Telangana

A historic bill to carve out Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh was today passed by Lok Sabha amid din and strong protests by members from Seemandhra region, including ministers.

Here are the top 10 things to know about the Telangana movement

 

• In 1956, Telangana merged with Andhra State, which was carved out of Madras State, to form Andhra Pradesh, a united state for Telugu-speaking people. 'Jai Telangana' movement for separate statehood to Telangana began in 1969. Over 300 people killed in police firing. The main opposition party, BJP,  also supported demand for Telangana state in the 1998 election, it promised 'one vote two states'.
 

•  In 2001 K. Chandrasekhara Rao floated Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to revive Telangana movement. TRS fought elections in alliance with Congress, wins five Lok Sabha and 26 assembly seats. UPA includes Telangana issue in common minimum programme.
 

  • In  2010, the Centre set up five-member Srikrishna committee to look into Telangana issue. The committee submitted its report, suggested six options. In October 2013  Union cabinet approved the proposal to divide Andhra Pradesh. A Group of Ministers (GoM) was constituted to prepare the roadmap after consultations with all stakeholders.

 

• On December 16, 2013 the bill  was  introduced in both houses of state legislature amid clashes between Seemandhra and Telangana lawmakers
 

• In January 2014 amid ruckus, both houses of state legislature in Andhra Pradesh passed by a voice vote official resolutions, rejecting the bill and appealing to the President not to send the bill to Parliament .

•  On Februaru 7, 2014 the Union cabinet cleared the bill and rejected Seemandhra leaders' demand to make Hyderabad a union territory. The Bill was then sent to the President for his approval to table it in parliament

•  On February 13, 2014 the Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha amid clashes between MPs from Seemandhra and Telangana. L. Rajagopal, a MP from Seemandhra, used pepper spray in the house. Speaker suspended 16 MPs including Rajagopal for rest of the session.

 

•  Seemandhra (Coastal Andhra and Rayalseema) is a poor cousin of Telangana, which is rich in industry and, more primarily from a southern perspective, water. Of the three regions of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana has the largest area (114,800 square kilometres).

 

•  45% of the state income comes from Telangana region. When it comes to utilization of funds, the share of Telangana is only 28%

 

•  Besides, 20% of India's coal deposits, 45% of Andhra's forest area and 41.6% of AP's population are in Telangana.

Content Source: Wikipedia/ IANS/ www.telanganaassembly.com