Caught in its own shifting stands over the Telangana issue, the Centre deferred a decision on the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill on Thursday as a Group of Ministers held discussions to consider demands of Union Ministers from Seemandhara for making Hyderabad a Union Territory.
The deferring of the decision on the Bill by the Cabinet came even as the controversy over the much-delayed issue snowballed and washed out proceedings in Parliament for the second day, with two members from Andhra Pradesh (AP) including one from the Congress giving notices for no-confidence motion in the lok Sabha.
A special meeting of the Union Cabinet will be held on Friday for considering the Telangana Bill amid expectations that it will be brought in Parliament next week. Meanwhile, the Government maintained that it needed more time to finalise the draft Bill. The Group of Ministers (GoM) has already met twice this week. Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has maintained that the Bill will be tabled in the current session of Parliament.
The GoM is understood to have held discussions on the demands from Seemandhara region that include making Hyderabad a Union Territory for a limited period and incorporating Bhadrachalam sub-division with residuary AP. “Before this session of Parliament is over, we will bring the Telangana Bill to the House,” Shinde, at the head of the GoM, told newspersons after an hour-long meeting of the panel.
He was, however, non-committal as to whether the Bill could be passed in Parliament, given the disruption of its proceedings over the last two days by Seemandhara MPs. The Bill has already been rejected by AP Assembly. “Discussions are going on,” Shinde said without elaborating. The main Opposition BJP has been supporting a separate Telangana State with a rider that “justice” be done to the Seemandhara region.
Both Houses of Parliament were disrupted from the start as members created an uproar over the Telangana issue, harassment of Tamil fishermen by Sri lanka, 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Pathribal fake encounter case and killing of a student from Arunachal Pradesh in Delhi last week. The lok Sabha was adjourned till noon and then for the day. The Rajya Sabha was also adjourned, first till noon and then till 2 PM and finally for the day.
The lok Sabha saw members from AP, cutting across party lines, trooping into the Well of the House shouting slogans for or against Telangana. While YSR Congress chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy as also several members from Seemandhara were holding placards for ‘United Andhra Pradesh’, those from Telangana wanted the Bill for the separate State to be brought early. TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao and his party colleague Vijaya Shanthi were, however, in the aisle.