As the government's January 28 deadline to take a decision on Telangana issue draws near, agitation has intensified with two delegations - one demanding a separate Telangana state and the other opposing it - trying to make their demands met.
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde made an announcement after an all-party meeting on December 28 last year that the government would take a decision on Telangana within a month's time.
Both the groups that support a separate Telangana state and the one that want undivided Andhra Pradesh met central leaders including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Tuesday but didn't get any assurance from the meeting.
The six-member Srikrishna Committee headed by former chief justice B. N. Srikrishna had suggested a few options in its report that was presented to the Ministry of Home Affairs in December, 2010, but the government is reportedly considering only two options - formation of a separate Telangana state or keep Andhra Pradesh intact by forming an Autonomous Telangana Regional Council, which would look into the social, political and economic development of the region.
However, the supporters of a separate Telangana state are not willing to settle for an Autonomous Telangana Regional Council, and the anti-Telangana group is adamant on keeping Andhra Pradesh state undivided.
Politicians from the state are also divided on this sensitive issue with some of them supporting the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh into Telangana and Seemandhra states, and some opposing it.
Meanwhile, the Home Ministry has sent around 5,000 security personnel to Andhra Pradesh to avoid any untoward incident in the wake of announcement by the Centre.
