Cong sacks 6 Seemandhra MPs, readies for tabling of T Bill

Sending out a clear message about its commitment to the separate Telangana plan, Congress today expelled six Lok Sabha MPs from the Seemandhra region who had given notices of no-confidence motion against the government over their opposition to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
The unprecedented move came after the MPs repeatedly disrupted proceedings with some of them also serving notices for a no-trust motion, causing embarrassment to the party and the government.
The action itself came hours after L Rajagopal and Sabbam Hari, along with members of YSR Congress and TDP, gave such notices today.
Hari even threatened to commit self-immolation in Lok Sabha if the Bill to carve out a separate Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh was introduced.

Besides Rajagopal and Hari, those who gave notices today were M Rajamohan Reddy of YSR Congress and K Narayana Rao of TDP.
Along with Hari and Rajagopal, the MPs expelled by Congress President Sonia Gandhi are GV Harsha Kumar, V Arun Kumar, R Sambasiva Rao and A Sai Pratap.

Four central ministers from the Seemandhra region -- K Sambasiva Rao, JD Seelam, Kruparani Killi and Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy -- were seen standing on their seats in the House in an apparent show of solidarity with the anti- separate state cause.
A dozen of the Congress members from Seemandhra region, including most of those expelled, were suspended for some time in the earlier part of the Winter Session for causing repeated disruptions.

While there was no official word as to when the Bill will be introduced, members spoke of the possibility of bringing it in the Lok Sabha only after the vote-on-account is approved on February 18.