 "Andhra Assembly rejects Telangana bill")
In a setback to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre, the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, by a voice vote on Thursday, rejected the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill 2013 on creating a separate Telangana state.
Amid protests by MLAs from Telangana, Speaker N Manohar announced that a resolution moved by Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy for rejecting the bill was carried and adjourned the House sine-die.
The Chief Minister, in his resolution, has urged President Pranab Mukherjee not to refer the bill to Parliament.
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On Wednesday, Reddy threatened to quit politics if the Telangana bill was tabled in Parliament in its current form.
“The Bill is incomprehensive and incomplete. What the Centre has sent us cannot be accepted by anybody. Even then, if the Centre tables it in Parliament, I will quit my post and quit politics,” he had told reporters.
“The President doesn’t scrutinize the Bill. It’s the ministry of home affairs and the law ministry that scrutinize the Bill,” he said in reply to a question.
As the decision of the Andhra Assembly, either way, is not mandatory, the Central government will go ahead with its decision to create Telangana by tabling the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill in the ensuing Parliament session, official sources said.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has already declared the Central government's intention to table the Telangana bill in the next session of Parliament.
Parliament session commences on February 5 and is scheduled to end on February 21. This will be the last session of Parliament before the tenure of the UPA-II comes to an end.
Reddy's letter to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking extension of the deadline for discussing and returning the statehood Bill has been termed by Home Ministry officials as time buying tactic of the Chief Minister.
( PTI contributed to this story )
As the decision of the Andhra Assembly, either way, is not mandatory, the Central government will go ahead with its decision to create Telangana by tabling the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill in the ensuing Parliament session, official sources said.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has already declared the Central government's intention to table the Telangana bill in the next session of Parliament.
Parliament session commences on February 5 and is scheduled to end on February 21. This will be the last session of Parliament before the tenure of the UPA-II comes to an end.
Reddy's letter to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking extension of the deadline for discussing and returning the statehood Bill has been termed by Home Ministry officials as time buying tactic of the Chief Minister.
( PTI contributed to this story )