In the immediate fallout of the passage of the Telangana Bill during the din in the lok Sabha, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Tuesday declared to resign from the post and quit the Congress on Wednesday, while YSR Congress leader Jaganmohan Reddy called for Andhra bandh and termed the Government unilateral action in Parliament as a “murder” of democracy.
“The way the proceedings took place, the way the ayes, the way the noes were called by the Speaker, all of them very clearly showed how democracy could be killed in broad daylight. It’s a black day in the history of this country and we are declaring a bandh tomorrow in Andhra Pradesh in protest,” he told reporters outside Parliament. Jagan, who had sat on a dharna at Jantar Mantar, protesting the bifurcation of the State, has accused Sonia Gandhi of dividing the State for political gains. He has charged the ruling party with dividing the State with the sole aim of making Rahul Gandhi Prime Minister as it hoped to win some seats by aligning with the TRS in Telangana.
Angry over the way the Telangana Bill was passed in the lok Sabha, two Union Ministers from the region threatened to stall the Rajya Sabha where the Bill would be brought on Wednesday. “The show has not finished,” Union Tourism Minister Chiranjeevi said. The actor-turned-politician from Seemandhra said. “Now I am saying. Tomorrow, we have chance again to stall the Rajya Sabha.”
Seconding Chiranjeevi’s views, HRD Minister MM Pallam Raju said he was saddened about the manner in which the Bill had been cleared. “As a member of the party and the Government, I feel saddened the manner in which we have cleared the Bill,” he added. “A responsible Government and a responsible party would be sensitive to the genuine concerns of the people living in other two regions,” he noted.
Asked whether he would tender his resignation to protest against it, Raju wondered what would be the impact of his resignation. “We will continue to protest against our party and the Government,” he replied. However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill would be brought in the Upper House “immediately” along with the 38 amendments approved by the lok Sabha. Talking to the media outside the Parliament House, he attacked the BJP for playing a “double game” on the controversial Telangana issue. “BJP has said the Bill is unconstitutional. But they still supported it. This shows their double game. They stand exposed,” Nath said.
With Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy all set to resign and quit the Congress, the party high command has called for an urgent meeting to discuss the future strategy of politics and a new head of the State Government at earliest. State Infrastructure and Investment Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao, party MlA Thota Trimurthulu, Aadala Prabhakar Reddy, Bandaru Satyananda Rao, Sridhar Krishna Reddy, Dharmana Prasada Rao, T Vijay Kumar and R Suryaprakasa Rao have already resigned from the party.
GJM pushes for Gorkhaland
With the passage of the Telangana Bill in the lok Sabha, the GJM immediately urged the Centre to take a unilateral decision to create a separate Gorkhaland State, despite objection from West Bengal. “We would now request the Centre to similarly consider the just and fair demand for separate state of Gorkhaland,” Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung said in a Facebook post.
Pepper sprayer quits
Seemandhra MP l Rajagopal, who had created a storm by splashing pepper spray in the lok Sabha, resigned from Parliament and announced quitting politics, saying he was “hurt” as Telugu people had been divided following the passage of the Telangana Bill in the lok Sabha. The Vijayawada MP’s action came within hours after the controversial Bill was passed by the lok Sabha. The Speaker had suspended 16 Seemandhra MPs, including Rajagopal who opposes Telangana state, after the pepper spray incident on February 13 and they could not attend the House on Tuesday.
TDP seeks Modi help
In a last-ditch effort, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu appealed to BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi to “use his good offices” to keep Andhra Pradesh united till an amicable solution is reached on the issue of creation of separate Telangana. “I met Modi. I requested him. They (Congress) are doing all these things. These are all the violations.. ... So you use your good offices...You tell your party (to stop it)...,” he said talking to the media.