The Group of Ministers headed by Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde is reportedly planning to include two Rayalaseema districts of Anantapur and Kurnool in the Telangana state.
According to NDTV, the Central government has renamed the proposed 29th state of India as 'Rayala-Telangana' that will have 12 districts within its boundary.
Thus, the two states shaped from bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh would each have 147 assembly constituencies and 21 Lok Sabha seats.
The proposed Bill will soon be introduced to the Cabinet for approval. An anonymous source told the news website that Congress is trying to gain through the endorsement of such a proposal.
The controversial Bill is said to 'trump' the presence of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in Telangana and Jaganmohan Reddy-led YSR Congress in Rayalaseema.
The TRS had warned the Congress government to approve such a move in July when the statehood of Telangana was tabled in front of the Cabinet.
At a press conference on Sunday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also opposed the inclusion of Anantapur and Kurnool in the 10 Telangana districts.
BJP State president G Kishan Reddy said his party would not support the Bill if it was aimed at creating 'Rayala-Telangana'. He added that such a proposal is the "Congress' plan" to delay the introduction of the Bill during the Winter session of the Parliament which is slated to begin on 5 December.
Senior leader of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) KE Krishnamurthy alleged only a few leaders who have business interests in the Telangana region are promoting the idea of 'Rayala Telangana'. "No one is asking for Rayala Telangana state. How can we live with people who are alleging that we are looting and exploiting them," he told New Indian Express.
The proposed Bill will have Hyderabad named as the common capital for 10 years with the governor in charge of law and order.
