The Government may have suspended 16 MPs from Seemandhra region, but the Telangana Bill could now face trouble from Union Ministers from the region. Unfazed by the suspension of his colleagues from lok Sabha for creating ruckus, Union Minister KS Rao on Friday said Ministers from Seemandhra region would “block” the Telangana Bill if the Government did not accept at least four of their demands.
Claiming that their demand for Union Territory Status for Hyderabad was “non-negotiable”, Rao said, “We will continue to protest. We will continue to raise the same issues... I will be in Parliament to block the Bill.” The Textiles Minister said all Union Ministers from the Seemandhra region will join him to block the Bill in the lower House. Rao presented four demands for arriving at a peaceful solution to the “burning” problem.
He said that Hyderabad should be made a Union Territory at least for 10 years till the people of Seemandhra built their own capital. The Bill should have a provision to add Anantapur and Karnool districts as part of Telangana, Rao said. Rao asked Government to keep the Bhadrachalam division, which has been made part of Khammam district in Telangana, with Seemandhra.
Amendments should be brought in the Bill for the transfer of villages in Bhadrachalam division to Andhra State so that it would benefit Seemandhra region, Rao said. The Minister said the Government incorporate in the Bill that from the consolidated fund of India, it would provide enough money to Seemandhra State for constructing a new capital and other infrastructure.
Asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take steps to resolve the impasse, Rao said if the Government agreed to meet their conditions before Monday, all MPs from Seemandhra would support the Bill. Rao said that the Congress was doing “wrong” on the issue of Telangana and the Government could not do the floor management properly to prevent incidents that had occurred in Parliament on Thursday.
When asked about the pepper spraying incident, Rao said, “I have been there in Parliament for the last five terms. I never went into the Well. I will never support the incidents that had happened on Thursday.” Pointing out that it was not one party that created ruckus in the House, Rao said Congress party employed its party MPs as marshals to protect somebody. “The methods adopted by the leadership were wrong. Spraying of something... It is also wrong... He says spraying of pepper powder was to protect himself,” Rao said. Noting that the complicity of the problem of dividing Andhra Pradesh was “huge”, Rao said Thursday’s incidents throw in sharp relief how divided both sides are.