Srikrishna panel report by Dec 31

If all goes well, the people of Andhra Pradesh will know of the report being submitted by the Srikrishna Committee by December 31, 2010.

Making this announcement at a crowded but brief press meeting at the Lake View Guest House here on Thursday, Justice Srikrishna announced that the report to be  drafted  by the Committee would be made public by December 31, provided the Government intends to do so.``It is for the Government to make the contents of our report public,'' Justice Srikrishna hastened to add. 

The panel members have just  started visiting  various  regions of the state.  In the  last  couple  of  days  they covered  vast  areas in  the districts of  Mehbubnagar and Kurnool and collected the opinions of individuals  as well as groups of people besides collecting the reports from  various political parties, Justice Srikrishna said.

The Committee will also visit the State on May 6 and 7 next  to meet a few political parties to elicit their opinions on the formation of or integration of the state. The panel members are expected to tour the state for over eight to 10 days in the month of June-July, the members averred.

During the initial stages of the panel formation, a few people were averse to it, but now  we found them very co-operative. This is a positive development, one of the members observed.

 It is true that  there are contradictory opinions within the same party on the  issue of Telangana. That is the beauty of  democracy in a political  party. ''We  respect such views also and we will give our independent opinion,'' Srikrishna explained while clarifying the media's doubts. 

The five members of the Srikrishna Committee including its member-Secretary Vinod K Duggal were present on the occasion.