తెలంగానం కృష్ణార్పణం -- ఇదీ చిదంబర రహస్యం

Srikrishna panel only for consultations?
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has stuck to his word by announcing the much-publicised committee on deciding the fate of “Andhra Pradesh” on Wednesday morning.

The members of this committee are

(1) Shri Justice B N Srikrishna, retired Judge, Supreme Court of India - Chairman

(2) Prof (Dr) Ranbir Singh, Vice Chancellor, National Law University, Delhi - Member

(3) Dr Abusaleh Shariff, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute, Delhi - Member

(4) Dr (Ms) Ravinder Kaur, Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT, Delhi - Member

(5) Shri Vinod K Duggal, IAS (Retd), former Home Secretary - Member Secretary

The academics are experts in various fields and Duggal had a vast experience in various ministries.

So far so good. But what is confusing in the committee is that it does not mention whether the committee will look into the problems arising out of the bifurcation of the state and suggest remedies for the same or is just confined to holding consultations with various stakeholders and submit a report to the government. Going by the press release from the Home Ministry, it is meant to hold wide-ranging consultations with all sections of the people and all political parties and groups in Andhra Pradesh on the prevailing situation.

However, it also says the committee has been constituted in pursuance of statements made by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on December 9, 2009 and December 23, 2009 and the meeting he held with the eight recognised political parties of Andhra Pradesh on January 5, 2010. “In all these statements, Chidambaram specifically talked about the Telangana state formation. So, there is no need to specifically mention about Telangana in the press release,” a Telangana leader interpreted.

Anyway, the clouds will be cleared once the Committee finalises the terms of reference, which are now being drafted.


No accountability for Srikrishna panel
The appointment of Justice Srikrishna Committee is yet another step towards solving the Telangana imbroglio, but one doubts the authenticity of the committee.

The committee, according to reports from Delhi, was constituted only through an executive order from the Union Home Ministry. So, it is not a judicial commission formed under the Commisisoner of Inquries Act of Parliament nor is it an empowered committee of the supreme court. As such, it does not submit its report to Parliament or Supreme Court. Thus, it is not legally binding.

There was a talk that the committee would be constituted by the State Cabinet, after discussing it in the Cabinet Committee of Parliamentary Affairs, which is to meet on February 4. But before that, it happened. Now, the Telangna leaders are wondering it has any legal sanctity.

Source: greatandhra..