 "Lok Sabha okays T-Bill amid din")
Amid loud protests and a blackout of House proceedings on television, the Lok Sabha on Tuesday cleared the contentious Telangana Bill — barely two months before the general elections. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath later said the Bill would “immediately” come up in the Rajya Sabha for clearance.
While Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) supporters cheered the announcement, YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, a key opponent of Andhra Pradesh’s bifurcation, called for a state-wide bandh on Wednesday, labelling the move a “murder of democracy”. Besides, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who has been fiercely opposing the move, is likely to resign on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, even as some Union ministers from Andhra’s Seemandhra region raised slogans in the well of the House, the government pushed through the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2014. With the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on board, the Bill was passed with 38 official amendments. (STATE OF PLAY)
Unlike the past 10 days, it was not only the usual pro- and anti-Telangana protestors disrupting work in the House. On Tuesday, they were joined in sloganeering through the 90-minute process by Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) members as well. Led by Sharad Yadav, Janata Dal (United) members staged a walkout to show their disagreement with the Bill.
Even as the government was pushing through the Bill, Union ministers Chiranjeevi, D Purandeswari and K S Rao stormed the well of the House.
ALSO READ: 10 things to know about Telangana
For the first time. Rao later declared the Bill as “unconstitutional, unethical and illegal” and threatened to move the Supreme Court against it.
TMC’s Sougata Roy protested against the Speaker Meira Kumar’s move to go for a headcount instead of calling for a division of the House. TMC has consistently been opposing the bifurcation, as such a more might set the stage for revival of demands for a separate Gorkhaland.
Fearing a repeat of last week’s pepper-spray incident, several Congress MPs, including Mahabal Mishra and Bhaktcharan Das, had formed a cordon around Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde when he initiated a discussion on the Bill. There was much drama, as most of the 16 suspended MPs tried to barge their way into the House to participate in the discussions. Soon after, the Lok Sabha television officially blacked out the proceedings, claiming “House adjourned” on its screen.
In the evening, however, the Lok Sabha secretariat clarified in a press release that the blackout happened due to “technical problems” and that the “CEO LSTV is probing into it”. BJP’s Sushma Swaraj tweeted: “They say the blackout of Lok Sabha was due to a ‘technical glitch’. No. It was a tactical glitch.”
Even as she extended her party’s support to the Bill, Swaraj, also the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, criticised UPA for sitting on the Bill since 2004 and then rushing through in the last week of the last session of Parliament.
Minutes after the passage of the Bill, both the Congress and BJP accused each other of playing “double game”. Swaraj later said BJP would move amendments to the Bill in the Upper House.
Most of the amendments moved by Hyderabad MP and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Asaduddin Owaisi, including a proposal to have Hyderabad as a capital for only Telangana (not a common one for the two states for ten years), were negated. In all 109 amendments were moved.
Speaking to the media later, the home minister said he had tried his best to assuage the concerns of the Seemandhra supporters and the government had included a special financial package for the region.
Security has been stepped up across Andhra Pradesh with fears of a backlash by Seemandhra supporters.
Meanwhile, emotions appeared to be running high as Union minister S Jaipal Reddy credited only “one lady”, Sonia Gandhi, with taking the bold step to help the 60-year-long struggle for creation of Telangana reach fruition. TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, a prime proponent of Telangana, walked to BJP’s Swaraj and thanked her for her party’s support to the Bill.
Towards the end of the day, both the Congress and BJP were seen trying to take all credit for the Bill’s passage.
ALSO READ: YSR Congress asks for Seemandhra shutdown
While Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) supporters cheered the announcement, YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, a key opponent of Andhra Pradesh’s bifurcation, called for a state-wide bandh on Wednesday, labelling the move a “murder of democracy”. Besides, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who has been fiercely opposing the move, is likely to resign on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, even as some Union ministers from Andhra’s Seemandhra region raised slogans in the well of the House, the government pushed through the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2014. With the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on board, the Bill was passed with 38 official amendments. (STATE OF PLAY)
Unlike the past 10 days, it was not only the usual pro- and anti-Telangana protestors disrupting work in the House. On Tuesday, they were joined in sloganeering through the 90-minute process by Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) members as well. Led by Sharad Yadav, Janata Dal (United) members staged a walkout to show their disagreement with the Bill.
Even as the government was pushing through the Bill, Union ministers Chiranjeevi, D Purandeswari and K S Rao stormed the well of the House.
ALSO READ: 10 things to know about Telangana
For the first time. Rao later declared the Bill as “unconstitutional, unethical and illegal” and threatened to move the Supreme Court against it.
TMC’s Sougata Roy protested against the Speaker Meira Kumar’s move to go for a headcount instead of calling for a division of the House. TMC has consistently been opposing the bifurcation, as such a more might set the stage for revival of demands for a separate Gorkhaland.
Fearing a repeat of last week’s pepper-spray incident, several Congress MPs, including Mahabal Mishra and Bhaktcharan Das, had formed a cordon around Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde when he initiated a discussion on the Bill. There was much drama, as most of the 16 suspended MPs tried to barge their way into the House to participate in the discussions. Soon after, the Lok Sabha television officially blacked out the proceedings, claiming “House adjourned” on its screen.
In the evening, however, the Lok Sabha secretariat clarified in a press release that the blackout happened due to “technical problems” and that the “CEO LSTV is probing into it”. BJP’s Sushma Swaraj tweeted: “They say the blackout of Lok Sabha was due to a ‘technical glitch’. No. It was a tactical glitch.”
Even as she extended her party’s support to the Bill, Swaraj, also the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, criticised UPA for sitting on the Bill since 2004 and then rushing through in the last week of the last session of Parliament.
Minutes after the passage of the Bill, both the Congress and BJP accused each other of playing “double game”. Swaraj later said BJP would move amendments to the Bill in the Upper House.
Most of the amendments moved by Hyderabad MP and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Asaduddin Owaisi, including a proposal to have Hyderabad as a capital for only Telangana (not a common one for the two states for ten years), were negated. In all 109 amendments were moved.
Speaking to the media later, the home minister said he had tried his best to assuage the concerns of the Seemandhra supporters and the government had included a special financial package for the region.
Security has been stepped up across Andhra Pradesh with fears of a backlash by Seemandhra supporters.
Meanwhile, emotions appeared to be running high as Union minister S Jaipal Reddy credited only “one lady”, Sonia Gandhi, with taking the bold step to help the 60-year-long struggle for creation of Telangana reach fruition. TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, a prime proponent of Telangana, walked to BJP’s Swaraj and thanked her for her party’s support to the Bill.
Towards the end of the day, both the Congress and BJP were seen trying to take all credit for the Bill’s passage.
ALSO READ: YSR Congress asks for Seemandhra shutdown
17 Sep ’48: Princely state of Hyderabad — Telangana and other regions — merges into the Indian Union
’50: Telangana and other regions become Hyderabad state; Centre appoints M K Vellodi its first CM
’52: Potti Sriramulu fasts to death, demanding a separate Andhra state carved out of the erstwhile Madras Presidency; his death is followed by huge protests; PM Jawaharlal Nehru forced to agree to the demand
Nov 1, ’56: The Hyderabad state is merged into Andhra, a united linguistic state for Telugu-speaking people
’69: ‘Jai Telangana’ movement, led by M Channa Reddy, is launched for a separate Telangana state; nearly 300 people killed in protests and police firing
’73: Centre brings a six-point formula to reassure people of the two regions
’01: K Chandrashekhar Rao floats Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to revive the Telangana movement
Dec 9 ’09: Centre announces initiating process for formation of the Telangana state
Feb ’10: To look into the Telangana issue, Centre sets up five-member Srikrishna committee, which gives its report in December suggesting 6 options
July ’13: UPA coordination panel and the Congress Working Committee decide to carve out Telangana state; protests in Seemandhra
Jan 30, ’14: Andhra Assembly rejects Telangana Bill but Centre moves ahead
Feb 7 ’14: Union Cabinet clears the Bill, rejecting Seemandhra leaders’ demand to make Hyderabad a Union Territory
Feb 13 ’14: The Bill is introduced in the Lok Sabha
Feb 18 ’14: Lok Sabha clears the Bill by voice vote
WHAT NEXT?
* The Bill is likely to be tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday
* The Upper House may then pass the Bill and send it to the President
* The President could i) give his assent, ii) withhold his assent and send it back for reconsideration, or iii) keep his decision in abeyance interminably
* According to former Lok Sabha secretary-general Subhash Kashyap, there is no time limit specified for the President to take a decision on a Bill awaiting his assent.
* But it is expected the President, in this instance, will give his assent soon
* The Bill will become law after Presidential assent and a gazette notification that will follow (that could be published immediately)
* Telangana can become the 29th state of India within 24 to 48 hours of the gazette’s publication