Stalemate over draft State reorganisation Bill continued in Andhra Pradesh legislature as both the House adjourned for the day without initiating the debate on the Bill.
The first day of the Assembly and council after the Christmas and New Year recess was marred by bedlam and interruptions by the members form Seemandhra regions and no business could transact.
Trouble began in the State Assembly as soon as the House met at 9 am. As the Speaker N Manohar announced the rejection of the adjournment motions of the Opposition parties on various issues, members form Telangana and Seemandhra region rushed to the Podium of the Speaker shouting slogans and stalling the proceedings.
While Telangana members were demanding immediate debate on draft State reorganisation Bill, Seemandhra members wanted the House to pass a resolution in favor of keeping the State united.
When all his efforts to restore order failed, Speaker adjourned the House for half an hour. The bedlam continued even after the House was reconvened. Attendance was thin in the House. Again the warring groups of members did an encore and continued the slogan shouting match forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House for the day.
Same scenes were witnessed in the legislative council as Seemandhra members went all out to stall any debate on the draft bill. When the calm did not return to House even after half an hour adjournment, Chairman Chakrapani adjourned the House for the day.
Members from both the sides expressed their views outside the House.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti floor leader E Rajinder expressing his displeasure over the behavior of Seemandhra members said that it was the duty of the leader of the House and Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and the Speaker N Manohar to uphold the conventions and traditions of the assembly and ensure smooth debate on the draft bill.
"Chief Minister is the main culprit of stalling a constitutional process in the assembly", he alleged.
On the other hand Telugu Desam member from coastal Andhra Devineni Umamaheshwara Rao said that the draft state reorganization bill deserves to be torn and sent back to the center.
He alleged that as Congress had realized that it had lost North India and was trying to divide the Telugu people to help Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi win lok Sabha elections form Medak and Karimnagar.
Congress leadership also came under attack from within as the state minister Kasu Krishna Reddy said that the Congress central leadership had no right or the ability to divide Andhra Pradesh. Talking to media in Narsaraopeta he said that Assembly was like a temple and he will raise his voice against the bifurcation and stop the process.
Meanwhile the opponents of Telangana were continuing to mount pressure against the bifurcation.
United Andhra Pradesh Protection Committee called for state wide strike on Friday but it had impact only in Seemandhra region. The strike call had the support of the Seemandhra leader of Congress and Telugu Desam and the government employees of the region. The strike call affected the normal life and brought the public transport system to a halt in 13 districts of Seemandhra.
On the other hand three members of lok Sabha from Seemandhra lagdapati Rajagopal, Sabbam Hari and Harsha Kumar went on 48 hour long hunger strike at Indira Park in Hyderabad in protest against the proposed bifurcation of the state. Several ministers from Seemandhra also visited the camp and expressed their solidarity.
Ignoring the protest of the Telangana supporters, Hyderabad city police granted conditional permission to the hunger strike. The police however asked the participants against making any provocative speeches at the camp.
‘My resignation is a protest against humiliation of Telangana people’
D Sridhar Babu, who resigned from the State Cabinet after he lost crucial legislative Affairs Ministry, said that he was forced to revolt as his removal was part of a conspiracy to stall the debate on draft Telangana Bill.
A fuming Sridhar Babu, who rejected the pleas of other Telangana Ministers and party leaders to stay on, said that a conspiracy was hatched to derail the process of formation of Telangana State. “All these things are part of efforts to stall a Telangana debate,” he said.
In a surprise move, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy had divested Sridhar Babu of legislative Affairs portfolio after he played a proactive role in moving the draft State reorganisation Bill in Assembly. The Chief Minister handed over the portfolio to S Shailajanath, a pro united AP Minister from Seemandhra.
“Any amount of obstacles will not stop Telangana State from becoming a reality,” he said. lashing out at the Chief Minister, Babu said that change in his portfolio was nothing but misuse of power. “My resignation is very minor in front of the sacrifices of the people who committed suicide for Telangana State. I am not hungry for any post.”
"MY resignation is a voice of protest against the insult to the people of Telangana", he said. Sridhar said it was very unfortunate the Chief Minister and other Seemandhra ministers were refusing to acknowledge the feelings of 40 million people of Telangana region.
AICC Secretary Ramchandra Kunthia had also advised Babu against insisting on his resignation but a badly hurt minister refused to back down.
State Congress President Botsa Satyanarayana had also urged Sridhar Babu against resignation. "who is legislative affairs minister is immaterial for the Seemandhra and Telangana issues.