The Union home minister, Mr P. Chidambaram’s book, A View from Outside, wherein he purportedly supports the idea of smaller states, including Telangana, is now the most sought after by both Samaikya Andhra and pro-Telangana activists. Opponents of Telangana statehood are accusing Mr Chidambaram of putting his thoughts into practice. They accuse him of destabilising Andhra Pradesh, particularly the IT hub of Hyderabad, and wooing the IT sector to Chennai. Samaikya Andhra leaders are suspicious of Mr Chidambaram while Telangana protagonists are mighty pleased with the discovery that he supports small states. “Mr Chidambaram has an agenda to destabilise AP, particularly the IT hub of Hyderabad and benefit Chennai,” Mr D. Umamaheshwara.On the other side, Mr Etela Rajender, TRS floor leader, said, “There is nothing wrong with his observations.”

The focus is on the the chapter titled “Politics and Governance” in which Mr
Chidambaram wrote: “The jury is still out on Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand and Uttaranchal, but the early indications are that development will get a boost in these new states unless, of course, misgovernance takes over.” He added, “In my view, there is a strong case for the creation of Vidarbha (out of Maharashtra, population 9.67 crore) and Telangana (out of AP population 7.57 crore). Uttar Pradesh and Bihar should also be further divided.”