IT is legitimate to wonder why the Justice Srikrishna Committee, set up by the Union government to look into the demands for a separate Telengana state, has not taken a categorical stand on the issue.
Reports say the panel has outlined the four options before the Centre, enumerating the pros and cons of each alternative. This is all well and fine, but it is not that these alternatives did not exist before the panel went about its job.
We can only hope that the panel has made it easier for the Centre to take a call on the matter. There is no denying that whether a new state should be set up or not is, above all, a political decision. But the panel's report is relevant because it has had the advantage of speaking to a wide cross- section of stakeholders on the issue.
With the ball now in the Centre's court, it will need to display maturity and leadership for the contentious issue to be resolved with the least amount of public disturbance.
