Inexplicable as it may sound but it is over two months since the Congress Working Committee (CWC) had announced its decision on formation of separate Telangana state but the actual process of creation of new state has not moved even an inch forward so far.
The disappointment was in store for the Telangana protagonists on Tuesday when the much-awaited Telangana note failed to come up before the Union cabinet meeting.
The cabinet meeting did not discuss the Telangana issue as the Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde could not present a draft note on the matter.
As a result, the process is certainly going to be delayed further and it is doubtful whether the UPA government could meet the deadline of April-May next year for the formation of the new state.
Shinde has not yet given a go ahead to the draft prepared for presentation before the Cabinet, the sources said.
He is waiting for the recommendations of the high-level committee, headed by Defence Minister A K Antony, which is hearing the concerns of all stakeholders in the wake of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) decision on a separate Telangana, they said.
The Home Minister is also expected to place the draft before Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for "political clearance".
After finalisation, the draft will be sent to the Law Ministry for legal vetting before being presented to Cabinet.
The Cabinet, after giving its approval to the creation of a separate Telangana state, is expected to set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to go threadbare into the issues arising out of the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
That is likely to be followed by a resolution being sent to Andhra Pradesh Assembly regarding the formation of the new state.
After formation, Telangana will be the 29th state of India.
