Amid debate on proposed new state, Andhra Pradesh Assembly adjourns for a week

Hyderabad: At a time when Indian Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde’s announcement that the bill to form Telangana state will be introduced in the next session of Parliament in February lifted the hearts of supporters of the separate state, Andhra Pradesh’s legislative Assembly has adjourned for a week for Sankranti holidays, leaving debate on the Telangana bill incomplete.

Debate on the draft state reorganisation bill 2013 was once again marred by heated exchanges between opponents and supporters of Telangana even as YSR Congress Party members staged a walkout from the assembly.

Speaking in New Delhi on Friday, Home Minister Shinde said that as soon as the draft bill returns from President Pranab Mukherjee, it will be introduced in the parliament. The President has referred the bill to Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly for its views, setting a deadline of January 23.

This is the second time that the assembly has been adjourned for more than a week after the draft bill was brought before the House. Earlier the House was adjourned for the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Supporters of Telangana were apprehensive that these breaks would delay the entire process, leaving little time for the Parliament to pass the bill. But now the statement of the Union Home Minister has come as a reassurance that the centre will try to complete the process before the last session of Parliament ends, ahead of the 2014 general elections.

After yesterday’s acrimonious debate in the state assembly, during which 15 MLAs of YSRCP were suspended for a day and members of Congress, Telugu Desam and Telangana Rashtra Samiti indulged in a slugfest, the House witnessed some more verbal duels.

As soon as the House met, YSRCP members were up on their feet demanding a resolution in support of united Andhra Pradesh. When the Speaker N. Manohar rejected the demand, they angrily walked out of the House. The party’s floor leader, Y.S. Vijayalakshmi opposed the debate on the bill and questioned how the central government could think of dividing Andhra Pradesh when there was no unanimity in the legislature.

“We are opposed to all the clauses of the bill and reject it totally,” she said.

Later during the debate, TRS floor leader E. Rajinder clashed with Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy. Giving numerous examples of injustices to Telangana region at the hands of Andhra rulers, Rajinder alleged that the post of advocate general of the state was never given to a person from Telangana region.

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy asked why, when leaders from Telangana had become Chief Ministers, they did not appoint a Telangana person to the post of advocate-general.

He sparked a furore by claiming that a leader from Telangana region P V Narasimha Rao, after becoming Prime Minister had to contest from Nandyal in Rayalaseema for Lok Sabah as he had no confidence in the people of his own region.

The current phase of the session ended without Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy or the state Congress president Botsa Satyanarayana moving any amendment to the draft bill. Earlier, the Speaker had set the deadline till today for the members to move their amendments.

However Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi moved as many as 31 amendments. The party has opposed the provisions of a joint capital, joint governor and common High Court for the two states. It demanded that Hyderabad should be joint capital of the two states only for two years and law and order of Hyderabad should remain in the hands of Telangana government. The other demands of the party were a separate public service commission for Telangana and national status for Pranahita-Chevella project of the region.

Meanwhile D. Manikya Varaprasad Rao, a minister from Andhra, demanded that after bifurcation the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh should be renamed as “Telugu Nadu”.

He told the reporters that he had submitted to the Speaker a set of amendments to the draft bill and also demanded a ban on allocation of agriculture land for industries. He also demanded that the districts of Anantapur and Kurnool should be merged with Telangana to form Rayala Telangana state.