Most of the GoM, including Shinde, don’t support the Rayala-Telangana option!

Only 3 ministers – Ghulam Nabi Azad, Jairam Ramesh and Veerappa Moily seem to have pushed for including the Rayala-Telangana as an option to be considered by Union cabinet. The other 4 members, including Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde didn’t prefer it and wanted to stick to the original plan – Telangana with 10 districts. While they wanted GoM to work as per the original Cabinet directive and gave recommendations accordingly, media reports say Rayala-Telangana is an option the GoM mentioned in its report so that Cabinet consider it for discussion. Rumors floated earlier that the Royala-Telangana proposal came from above, from Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. If that was true, the proposal wouldn’t have been opposed by GoM members themselves.

The Cabinet is meeting on Thursday 5 PM and will discuss the GoM recommendations. “The GoM was constituted on October 3 and, as per the directive of the Cabinet, we have completed our work. The Cabinet will discuss the GoM’s report tomorrow,” Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who chaired the GoM, said soon after the final meeting of the panel on Wednesday evening.

With such weak support and strong opposition the idea evoked, the Cabinet is unlikely to even discuss the Rayala-Telangana model at length.