Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy (file pic)
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has said he will quit politics if the bill that creates the state of Telangana is introduced in its current form in Parliament.
The proposal to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh and turn the 10 districts of Telangana into India's 29th state has created a huge chasm among the state's politicians and people.
The bill that proposes the split was sent by President Pranab Mukherjee to the Andhra Pradesh assembly for review earlier this month; it is meant to be sent back to him on Thursday. But the Chief Minister and others say they want three more weeks a detailed discussion.
On Thursday, the Chief Minister also hopes that the state legislature will adopt a resolution condemning the bill. A majority of law-makers seem ready to support that move.
If that happens, it will be challenging for the President to clear a bill rejected by the state for discussion and vote in Parliament in the session that starts on February 5. The Congress will also find it hard to muster support among other parties to push the bill through.
This is the last time that Parliament will meet before the national elections, so if the Telangana proposal is not cleared, Andhra Pradesh will be undivided for the national polls.
That will rescue politicians like the Chief Minister who belong to the non-Telangana regions of Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra, which will form the residuary state. Residents of "Seemandhra" as the two regions are together referred to are worried about receiving less water and power than they have so far.
Telangana, on the other hand, has been arguing for decades that its resources are unfairly exploited by Seemandhra.