The Centre today sent the controversial Telangana Bill to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, setting a six-week timeline to approve the proposal to bifurcate the state.

A senior Home Ministry official said, the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Bill remitted to it by President Pranab Mukherjee, was today dispatched to Assembly Speaker N Manohar's office. As suggested by the President, the Assembly has been asked to consider the Bill and respond by January 23, 2014. The Winter Session of the state legislature began today.

The President had earlier sought legal opinion as he wanted the Bill, which provides for creation of Telangana by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh, to be legally sound. The Bill has already met with opposition from Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy who had said recently during a public rally that he would not allow Andhra Pradesh to be divided.

The Union Cabinet had on December 5 given the go-ahead for the creation of a 10-district Telangana and outlined the blueprint for carving out the country's 29th state.