Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief KC Rao
Politician K Chandrasekhara Rao or KCR, as he is known, has warned that he will lead a massive agitation against any plans by the centre to create a larger Telangana state than originally discussed.
A total
bandh or strike has been called by him in the Telangana region on Thursday. "Now is the time for each one of you to prove you are a KCR," he said on Tuesday, urging professionals and students to ensure Thursday's shutdown is total.
KCR fronted the campaign that led to the government announcing that Telangana, one of the three districts of Andhra Pradesh, would become India's 29th state. The residuary state will consist of the regions of Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra.
For 10 years, the IT hub of Hyderabad will be a shared capital after which it will belong to Telangana..
KCR and his party, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS, say Telangana must have 10 districts. But the Centre reportedly wants to add two more districts from Rayalaseema to the new state. That would give the old and new states 21 Lok Sabha and 147 assembly seats each - a move that the ruling Congress sees as politically astute ahead of the national elections, due by May.
Currently, Telangana elects 119 state legislators as compared to 153 from the other two regions.
Rayala-Telangana has been deemed unacceptable by KCR because voters there would him accountable for allowing non-Telangana districts into the fold, and accessing the region's water and other resources.
A group of ministers assigned to finalize the plans for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh will submit its report to the union cabinet this week. The government will then send a bill on the bifurcation to President Pranab Mukherjee. Though he will forward that proposal to the Andhra Pradesh assembly, its feedback is not binding on the government, and its approval is not needed for parliament to debate and clear the legislation.