The Bill for creation of Telangana state is unlikely to be passed in the winter session of Parliament as the Congress is learnt to have decided to move cautiously given the fact that it has not been able to fully convince its Seemandhra leadership on the division. The party seems to be buying time as it feels pushing through the Bill hurriedly may trigger a large-scale rebellion in Andhra which could have an impact on the Kiran Kumar Reddy government. Besides,sources said making Hyderabad the joint capital of Telangana and the residuary state of Andhra will require a Constitutional amendment which requires two-third majority in Parliament for which the ruling side will have to ensure a consensus on the finer points of the Bill,at least with the main opposition BJP. The Congress core group chaired by party president Sonia Gandhi,which met at PM Manmohan Singhs residence on Friday,discussed the issue. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath,who is not a member of the core group,was also called to the meeting. The Group of Ministers (GoM) set up to deal with the bifurcation issue will,however,complete the process of finalising its report and the draft bill. Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said a special meeting of the Cabinet has been convened on December 3. Sources said the last meeting of the GoM will be held either on Monday or Tuesday to finalise the draft Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill. They said the issue of Hyderabad continues to be contentious as Seemandhra leaders are demanding the protection of the lives and property of Seemandhra people settled in Hyderabad after the bifurcation.
