With less than 24 hours left before the deadline for the debate on draft Telangana Bill expires, Andhra Pradesh legislature witnessed high drama on Wednesday.
While logjam continued in both the State Assembly and legislative Council and both the Houses were adjourned without any debate Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and his Cabinet colleagues from Seemandhra region met the Speaker and submitted their affidavits opposing the bifurcation of the State.
“Please send these affidavits to the President along with the draft Bill,” Seemandhra Ministers told Speaker N Manohar. The affidavits were being seen as an indication that the Chief Minister and his supporters had given up the hope of passing a resolution or having a vote in the House on the issue of division of the State.
As the members from Telangana region continued their noisy protest against any resolution or voting on the state reorganization bill and the Seemandhra members demanded the Speaker to accept their notice for voting, both the Houses remain paralysed throughout the day.
With the possibility of resumption of debate or voting appearing bleak, the Seemandhra members of opposition Telugu Desma went on a sit on protest outside the Chambers of the Speaker shouting slogans.
“Telangana members were violating constitution by stalling the House”, said the TDP whip D Narendra. “Speaker should table all the notices including that of the leader of the House in assembly and act accordingly”, he said.
The government Chief Whip Gandra Venkatramanna Reddy on the other hand warned against accepting the notice or allowing any vote on the issue in the House. “Everybody know that the bill will not be in the state after 24 hours”, he said.He demanded the resignation of the Chief Minister for misleading the people on the issue.
With the deadline fixed by the President Pranab Mukherji for completing the debate in the state legislature set to expire in 24 hours, the process of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh will move back to New Delhi where the Group of Ministers will meet next week to finalize the schedule of introducing the bill in the Parliament.
Though the Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s notice to the Speaker to reject and return the bill to the president was discussed in the Business Advisory Committee meeting last evening, Speaker N Manohar could not take any decision.
However he gave the impression that he was in favor of a voting on the bill at the end of the debate tomorrow. The indication came as the Speaker circulated a note citing the examples of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar Assemblies where a similar bill to bifurcate the state was put up for voting.
Noisy scenes erupted in the assembly as the Telangana supporters on one hand and the Seemandhra members on the other rushed to the podium of the Speaker. Telangana members opposed the CM’s notice and Seemandhra members wanted the Speaker to accept it. Speaker’s repeated appeals to the members to resume the debate fell on the deaf ears. Even the ministers stood up from their seats and expressed their unhappiness.
Amid the ear splitting slogan shouting, the Speaker asked the members to submit their views on the draft bill in writing. When all efforts to restore the normalcy failed the Speaker adjourned the House twice for some time.
After the assembly met third time and bedlam continued, the deputy Speaker adjourned the House for the day with out any debate. Council too was adjourned due to the noisy protests.
During the break Telangana ministers led by the deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha met the Speaker and urged him to reject the notice. They asked the Speaker not to allow any voting or resolution in the House. A group of Seemandhra ministers also met the Speaker and reiterated their stand in support of resolution and the voting.
The state reorganization bill was tabled in the assembly on December 16. Since then the House debated it for 56 hours and one minute over a period of twenty days and 86 members of different parties took part in it. Prominent among them were the Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and floor leaders of Telangana Rashtra Samiti, YSRCP, BJP, CPI, MIM, CPIM and lok Satta.
Though the leader of opposition N Chandrababu Naidu also intervened in the debate at one stage but he was yet to speak on it formally.Originally the deadline was to expire on January 23 but the President extended it by one week on the request of the Chief Minister.
Chief Minister again wrote to the speaker seeking further extension of three weeks but it was unlikely to be extended.Observers believe that the same logjam was likely to continue in the legislature tomorrow and any attempt by the Speaker N Manohar to allow a voice vote or resolution will be foiled by the Telangana members by creating a bedlam.