Telangana is a complex issue

In a a major setback to the Telangana agitation, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday categorically stated that formation of Telangana issue was complex and it would take more time to resolve it.

"The problem is so complex that it has not been resolved for the last 60 years. Problems arose from the first SRC, and then came the Gentlement's Agreement, then six-point formula and Mulki Rule and there were other developmental issues," Pranab told a private news television channel in Kolkotta.

Justifying the delay in finding a solution Pranab said that the issue was highly sensitive and it was difficult to give a definite time frame for its solution. He said Telangana would create more problems in future. While apprehending violence in the statehood agitation, he appealed for peace stating that "sometimes mass frenzy creates a situation that get difficult to control".

Presenting a historical view, Pranab said there was no pressure on how the India States should be formed. "After independence, whole of south was divided into two presidential provinces - Bombay and Madras presidency. There was no state like Rajasthan during British time and it was called Rajputana," he said.

Pranab's statement is likely to spark a fresh wave of protest and all pro-Telangana leaders have already condemned it.