Telangana bill to be tabled in winter session: Shinde

Seeking to put a lid on speculation, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde today said the Bill for creation of the new state of Telangana, bifurcating Andhra Pradesh, will be tabled in the winter session of Parliament starting on December five.

"The Telangana bill will be tabled in the winter session," Shinde told reporters here, indicating that the process for creating the new state is being expedited.

Sources said following an instruction of the Congress high command, the Group of Ministers, set up to look into the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, has held a series of meetings with different stake holders, including eight political parties in the last seven days.

The GoM will hear the views of the Union Ministers from Andhra Pradesh on November 18 and Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who is said to be strongly opposed to the division of the state, the next day.

Meanwhile, sources said, Shinde, who heads the GoM, instructed Home Ministry officials is slated  to start ground work for preparing the note to be submitted before the Union Cabinet in the next fortnight.

The officials have started compiling the reports of different Ministries which gave their opinion on distribution of assets and other issues between the new state and the residuary state Andhra Pradesh.

Once the Cabinet clears the proposal, it will go to the President who in turn refer it to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly for approval. However, the Assembly resolution is not binding under the Constitution.

Government will then prepare the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill and with the Union Cabinet's approval will send it to the President before being tabled in Parliament.

The winter session of Parliament will commence on December 5 and will continue till December 20.