)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the major opposition party, which had been wrangling with the government for amendments, was ultimately left with little room to manoeuvre and supported the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill 2014. The electoral fallout in the coming polls weighed heavily on the minds of political parties.
Celebrations broke out in the Telangana camp, especially within the Telangana Rashtriya Samithi, soon after clearance of the Bill was announced. It has to now be signed by President Pranab Mukherjee.
The 29th state was created amid much turmoil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had to make a formal announcement assuring a special package to assuage the Seemandhra (non-Telangana areas) region. These are to include a special category status for five years and tax incentives to promote industrialisation.
Aware of the flak it had received for the alleged television blackout and bulldozing the Bill without discussion during passage in the Lok Sabha, the Congress-led UPA was wary of such methods in the Rajya Sabha. Since noon, when the house took up the Bill for discussion, not only Andhra members but those of the Trinamool Congress, JD(U), CPI(M) and Samajwadi Party stormed the well of the house and shouted slogans.
The house had to be adjourned nine times due to disruptions, with dissenting MPs even attempting to physically assault the Chair. Unlike the Lok Sabha where 16 MPs
were suspended, despite TMC members even tearing up paper to disrupt the PM’s speech, no one was suspended.
The ruling party benches have by now mastered the art of forming a protective cordon around Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde as he started discussion. Shinde assured a special economic package, with a cell to be created immediately in the Planning Commission under the Deputy Chairman, to address the development needs of the successor state of Andhra Pradesh. That apart, he reiterated the Centre’s firm commitment to execute the Polavaram multipurpose irrigation project as a national one.
Arun Jaitley, leader of the opposition, highlighted the need for a Constitutional amendment to bestow a Governor for the common capital of Hyderabad, with powers of security and maintenance of law and order, as has been envisaged in the Bill.
