The State Government’s notice to the Assembly Speaker and Council chairman seeking the rejection of the draft State Reorganisation Bill has created a fresh deadlock and the debate could not move forward.
Both the Houses were adjourned without any debate on Monday. Speaker N Manohar had to adjourn the House as the Telangana members rushed to the podium shouting slogans against
Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy. They asked the Speaker to reject the notice served by the Chief Minister seeking return of the draft State Reorganisation Bill.
Members from Seemandhra region opposing the bifurcation of the State also shouted slogans demanding that the House should pass a resolution rejecting the draft Bill and return it to the President.
Amid similar noisy scenes legislative Council Chairman Chakrapani adjourned the Upper House for the day after the pro-Telangana members stalled the proceedings while Seemandhra members urged the Chair to allow the notice and pass a resolution rejecting the Bill.
“There is no question of withdrawing the notice,” declared C Ramachandraiah, Minister and leader of the House in the legislative Council.
Earlier the Chairman adjourned the House twice briefly to restore order but when it did not work and the members on both the sides continued their noisy protests, he adjourned the House for
the day. There was hectic activity in the lobbies of both the Houses as Telangana as well as Seemandhra members tried to argue their cases before the media.
While a delegation of Telangana Ministers and legislators, including Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha submitted a representation to the Chairman demanding that the Government notice should be rejected, Seemandhra members also submitted a separate representation urging him to pass a resolution in the House rejecting and returning the Bill to Parliament.
The notice to pass such a resolution was given to the Chairman Chakrapani by C Ramachandraiah on Saturday. A similar notice was given to the Speaker of AP Assembly by the Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy. In the State Assembly Government chief whip Gandra Venkatramanna Reddy urged the Chief Minister to withdraw his notice. “If the Chief Minister remains adamant then we will have to chalk out our strategy in accordance with the feelings of the people of Telangana region,” he said.
He alleged that the Telugu Desam was trying to take political mileage out of the situation arising out of the Chief Minister’s notice.
In the legislative Assembly, pro-Telangana members met the Speaker to advocate their cause while Seemandhra Ministers met the Chief Minister urging him not to change his stand.
Meanwhile, the argument of the Chief Minster that what was sent by the President was only a draft Bill and not a Bill, was countered by Union Minister Jairam Ramesh who made it clear that there was no difference between a draft Bill and a Bill.
“There is no difference between the two,” he told the media in New Delhi. He said that there was no provision for the State legislature to pass a resolution against the Bill. “The State legislature can only give its opinion,” he said.
After the Bill comes back from the State legislature it will once again be discussed by the Group of Ministers and it will be amended if necessary, he said. Echoes of the issue were also heard outside the legislature. Telangana Joint Action Committee convenor Kodandaram said the antics of the Chief Minister can continue after January 30 when the time limit set by the President for completing the debate on the Telangana Bill will come to an end. “No force on earth can stop Telangana State from becoming a reality”, he told the reporters in Warangal.