The Telangana Bill on Saturday got the assent of President Pranab Mukherjee, who also signed a proclamation to impose President's Rule in Andhra Pradesh.
Presidential assent to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2014, which received Parliament's approval on February 20 despite strong opposition from Seemandhra leaders, paves the way for the creation of the country's 29th state by splitting AP.
There will be 13 districts in the residuary Andhra Pradesh, while Telangana will have 10, including Hyderabad city.
The Centre had already announced grant of special-category status, including tax incentives, to the residuary state as part of a six-point development package.
The President also signed the proclamation to impose President’s Rule in Andhra Pradesh following the Union Cabinet’s recommendation on Friday.
Mukherjee gave his nod to place under suspended animation the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, whose term is slated to end on June 2.
President’s Rule was necessitated by Kiran Kumar Reddy’s resignation as AP chief minister on February 19. Governor ESL Narasimhan had subsequently recommended central rule in the state.
That both the presidential decisions came on the same day was a double whammy of sorts for AP.
Following Mukherjee's nod to President's Rule, state DGP Prasad Rao said paramilitary forces have been deployed in Hyderabad as well as in the 23 districts. Special police pickets have been erected at Kukatpally, Ameerpet and Dilsukhnagar in Hyderabad.
“The nearly-six-decade-old wish of the Telangana people, of having a separate state, has been fulfilled today (on Saturday),” said freedom fighter and veteran CPI leader Channamaneni Rajeswar Rao. “Delayed, but a dream realised,” he added.
The Telangana notification brought cheers to the TRS, the BJP, the Telangana Congress and the CPI cadres and leaders, who distributed sweets and set off crackers.
The two-phased Telangana movement had reportedly claimed 1,500 lives. “At last my son’s sacrifice has been redeemed, and his fight for Telangana vindicated,” said the mother of Srikant Chari, who had set himself ablaze in 2010 on the Osmania University campus.
