People of Telangana today got a big gift: Sushilkumar Shinde

New Delhi: Calling the creation of the state of Telanagana as a “gift” to the people of the newly-formed state, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said both Telangana and Seemandhra have got justice. “I think it was a long-standing demand of the people of Telangana who today got a big gift,” Shinde told reporters outside Parliament after the Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha. [caption id=“attachment_1401147” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sushilkumar Shinde during the Rajya Sabha session on the Telangana Bill. PTI[/caption] He said while Telangana had come into being, Seemandhara had got a package, Polavaram project and other projects. “I think both states have got justice,” he said. Shinde said when the Bill was passed in Lok Sabha, BJP and other parties also supported it. He said UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had sat in the House when the Bill was getting passed in the Lok Sabha. “She and the party had expressed the desire that Telangana should come and Seemandhra should also get justice and a proper package,” the Home minister said. He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also intervened today and a package has been given “so that people of Seemandhra don’t feel that Hyderabad has gone to Telanagana.” He said though a few people were opposed to the Bill as their parties opposed the creation of small states, a majority of the parties, including BJP, BSP, LJP and others, had supported it. Union Minister Kamal Nath said the demand for Telangana, which had been there for sixty years, had been actualised. Asked to respond to the charge that there was match-fixing between Congress and BJP on Telangana Bill, Nath said “all those who want to vote in favour, voted in favour and those who didn’t, did not.” Nath said the government would try to get anti-corruption legislations passed tomorrow. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has been pushing for a number of Bills intended to combat corruption. PTI