BJP to study Telangana bill

The BJP will make a detailed study of the Telangana bill before taking a decision on supporting it in parliament, party leader M. Venkaiah Naidu said Sunday.

Naidu told reporters in Nellore that some clarity would come about on the bill in a couple of days.

While reiterating his party's commitment to a Telangana state, Naidu stressed the need to address the concerns of Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra) people.

"We have given some constructive suggestions for the development of both the regions but it seems the central government has not taken them into consideration," said Naidu.

The BJP leader said he gave the suggestions during a meeting with union minister Jairam Ramesh, a member of Group of Ministers (GoM) on Telangana.

Naidu said he also submitted his suggestions when Congress leaders like Digvijaya Singh and Ahmed Patel met him seeking the BJP's support for the Telangana bill.

He demanded that the central government include in the bill provisions to bridge the gap between the budgets of Andhra Pradesh and the proposed new state.

He pointed out that coastal Andhra currently has a Rs.684 crore surplus budget while Rayalaseema has a Rs.7,600 crore deficit budget.

Telangana, excluding Hyderabad, has a Rs.8,400 crore deficit budget while Hyderabad has a Rs.12,854 crore surplus budget.