TRS, BJP and Telugu Desam to boycott meeting on Telangana

The three main opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh - the Telangana Rashtra Samithy, Bharatiya Janata Party and the Telugu Desam - have announced a boycott of tomorrow's meeting of Andhra Pradesh political parties convened by the home minister to discuss the Srikrishna Committee report on Telangana.

Although, the ruling Congress Party in the state is also divided over the Telangan issue, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy today asked party cadres to wait till report is released tomorrow.

"I also do not know what is in the report. Experts have gone into the issue in detail. Let us wait for them to submit the report. Let us see what is in it before making comments," he told reporters in New Delhi.

The Justice Srikrishna Committee that has gone into the issue of the need for bifurcating Telangana region from the state of Andhra Pradesh is understood to have recommended six options and the centre is expected to finalise its decision in six weeks' time.

Sources also said the government would like to take a decision on the recommendations of the panel possibly before the Budget Session of Parliament starting February-end.

The committee headed by retired Supreme Court justice B N Srikrishna has avoided making any recommendations and instead has given its views on all six options - both for and against - while also detailing the historical background.

While the committee was of the view that there was no particular need for separating Telangana region from Andhra Pradesh, the panel has suggested making Hyderabad a union territory in case the centre opts for a bifurcation of the state.

The committee also did not see any material basis for treating Telangana as "backward' region, considering that the socio-economic conditions there are on par with that of the rest of Andhra Pradesh.