Congress MP resigns over Telangana

"We need to know the government's plan for Telangana," leader of Opposition L K Advani said.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has said the government agreed to the demands since it wanted to restore normalcy at the earliest.

Reacting to the government's statement that the process of a Telangana state will be initiated soon, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Venkaiah Naidu said, "If they would have taken the decision earlier, a lot of lives including those of students could have been saved."

"Now the government has bowed down to public pressure and conceded to the demand in principle," he said. "I hope they will keep their word," he added.

Telangana state: A five-decade-old aspiration

The Centre has still not indicated whether or not Hyderabad will be a part of the new state. On the other hand, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) has said a Telangana without Hyderabad is impossible.

TRS president K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) broke his fast after midnight after the Centre conceded to form a separate Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh.

“I thank the Government of India, Soniaji, the Prime Minister and Opposition leader L K Advani,” KCR told reporters breaking his 11-day-long fast.

“I thank the martyrs of the movement...I hope a separate Telangana state is formed soon,” he said.