Thu, 20 Feb 2014 16:15:00 GMT |
Andhra Pradesh will be bifurcated and the new state of Telangana will be created, making it the 29th state of the country
Andhra Pradesh will be bifurcated and the new state of Telangana will be created, making it the 29th state of the country
Reuters
New Delhi: Telangana is all set to become the 29th state of the Indian Union with the Parliament tonight approving a historic bill to carve it out of Andhra Pradesh amid vociferous protests by members from Seemandhra region as also from Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena. The suspense over the passage of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2014 came to an end with BJP backing the government on it despite raising several concerns. Apparently responding to demands from Seemandhra MPs as well as from BJP for "justice" to the region, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a six-point development package for successor states of Andhra Pradesh including grant of special category status including tax incentives to Seemandhra.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi's request to the Prime Minister to give a special category status to Seemandhra for five years seems to have apparently clinched the issue and BJP came on board.
"I hope these additional announcements will demonstrate our steadfast commitment to not just the creation of Telangana but also to the continued prosperity and welfare of Seemandhra," Singh noted.
A protective cordon was thrown around Singh as well as Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde by Congress members as members from Seemandhra region as also those from TMC and Shiv Sena stormed the Well with TMC members even tearing papers and throwing them on the floor. CPI-M members walked out in protest.
The House looked like a virtual battle-ground during the five-hour proceedings, which saw seven adjournments as members resorted to slogan shouting and tore papers describing the bill passed by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday as illegal. In fact, when Sushil Kumar Shinde moved the Bill in the RS, there were three adjournments only in a period of 30 minutes. The debate also saw the government facing an awkward situation when Union Minister Chiranjeevi, who hails from Seemandhra region, opposed the decision on Telangna inviting ridicule from BJP, which wondered whether a member of the Council of Minister can oppose a decision taken by his own government without resigning from it. As the bill appeared set to be a reality with most of the amendments moved by the BJP either negatived or withdrawn, CPI-M and Trinamool Congress alleged "nexus" between the ruling party and the main Opposition.
Minister Jairam Ramesh, who was a key person in the Telangana decision process as a member of the GoM on the issue, repeatedly made brief intervention to assuage the concerns of members on diverse issues. Law Minister Kapil Sibal said time has come to create Telangana. "Time has come to take this historic decision...It is very difficult to satisfy all people of both the regions."
Deputy Chairman P J Kurien rejected demands for division taking the plea that there was no order in the House.
Unlike Lok Sabha, where the bill was passed after a very brief discussion, Rajya Sabha saw a threadbare debate spanning around three hours despite unprecedented protest with anti-Telangana members storming the well with huge placards sometimes even overshadowing the Chair. Similarly, unlike the television black out that was witnessed during the proceedings in Lok Sabha, there was no such "technical glitch" on the Rajya Sabha TV, which telecast the proceedings live. Commotion and high drama continued throughout the proceedings with Congress member K V P Ramchandra Rao staging a sit in into the Well and Trinamool members shouting "tear and throw away".
There was no suspension of any member from the House of the Elders today unlike what happened in Lok Sabha, where as many as 16 Seemandhra members belonging to various parties faced action. BJP, which supported the bill also demanded that Seemandhra region got justice and a "defective" legislation was not passed. The principal Opposition party also deplored government for badly handling the passage of the bill without taking the stakeholders on board.
"Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are both brothers and are Telugu speaking. Telangana people want Telangana, we are saying yes...We are not dividing the country, we are only dividing a state for speedy development," Naidu said. Naidu blamed Congress for delaying creation of Telangana and playing "vote-bank" and "opportunistic" politics on the issue and said it is the "real culprit" in this whole process. He also sought amendments to give special category status to Seemandhra and adequate financial package to address the revenue loss of the region.
Supporting his colleague, Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley said, "We are in favour of creation of Telangana. But we want a lawful and legally sustainable bill be passed." "I am deeply disappointed the way the UPA government has done the creation exercise," he said, highlighting expulsion of members in the other House, the state assembly rejecting the proposal and others.
Replying to Naidu's concerns regarding the resource gap arising between the notified date and appointed date for creation of Telangana, both Shinde and Ramesh assured him that Government will take care of that and quoted the Prime Minister's statement in this regard.
In his statement, the Prime Minister noted that the resource gap arising in the successor state of Andhra Pradesh in the very first year will be compensated in the Regular Union Budget for 2014-15.
This gap may arise during the period between the appointed day and the acceptance of the 14th Finance Commission recommendations by the Government of India.
Concerns were also raised during the debate over Polavaram project, which Ramesh sought to explain. Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) said, "There is match-fixing between the ruling party and the Opposition" adding that the Chair should not get into such match fixing. Trinamool Congress members kept shouting "Congress-BJP bhai, bhai". Trinamool Congress is concerned about the fall out of the Telangana decision on Gorakhaland issue. The hilly region of West Bengal is seeking separate statehood for long.
Similarly in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena has been staunchly opposed to any division of the state, where demands for creation of Vidarbha are raised occasionally. The House had witnessed high drama yesterday with Secretary General Shumsher K Sheriff being heckled by a TDP member who tried to snatch from him papers related to Telangana bill.
When the Chair took up the Whistleblowers Bill for consideration, Prakash Javadekar (BJP) went near the podium to demand that the Telengana Bill be brought first, even as V Maitrayan (AIADMK) got into a scuffle with the marshalls demanding a discussion on the Tamil fishermen issue. The Telangana bill was moved for consideration even as a deadlock persisted over it with the government accusing BJP of bringing amendments at the eleventh hour. "We have listed the Telangana bill in Rajya Sabha and we would be attempting to get it passed. The question of amendments at this stage does not arise," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath had told reporters earlier.
As soon as Kurien, announced taking up Telangana bill after the House met at 2 PM, Seemandhra MPs from Congress and TDP rushed to the Well. They were supported by Derek O'Brien (TMC) and some others, who waved placards saying that bill passed in Lok Sabha on Tuesday was "not Constitutional, not legal, not right".One of the members was seen waving a black flag near the podium. There was a heated exchange between the agitating members and Kurien as the Seemandhra members as well as O'Brien did not allow Jaitely to speak even after the Chair permitted him to do so. Kurien appeared incensed particularly with TDP MP Y S Chowdhary, who kept shouting near the Chair seeking to move an amendment and demanding the opinion of the Attorney General over the Constitutional validity of the bill.
The House was adjourned five times between 2 PM to 4.30 PM without any sign of normalcy despite the Chair calling a meeting of leaders of all parties inside the Chamber. "Chairman had called leaders of all parties and there was a general consensus that we should discuss the bill. You can move the amendment but there is a rule and procedure for it. "First let there be a general discussion and then only amendments can be moved," Kurien said but Chowdhary and other agitating members remained unimpressed. "It is illegal. Go back to your seat. I will suspend you. I will take action against you. You are killing democracy," Kurien told Chowdhary as BJP members insisted that there should be order in the House for the discussion to take place.
Kurien earlier said that a number of members including Jaitley, O'Brien, Chowdhary and Naresh Agrawal (SP) have given notices opposing the bill on the ground of Constitutional validity. "I will be giving a chance to the LoP to oppose the Bill on its Constitutional validity," he said but later termed the use of word 'oppose' as a "slip of tongue". "I have called the LoP to raise a Constitutional point and not to oppose. I have to correct a slip of tongue," Kurien said.
M Venkaiah Naidu (BJP) rued that even ruling party members are disrupting the House and asked the government to create an atmosphere for discussion in the House. He said BJP has been saying all along that it was "in favour of Telangana" but insisted that there should be no injustice to Seemandhra region. Kurien, while criticising the agitating members for their unruly behaviour, said senior members of the House should tell the agitating MPs to go back to their seat. JD(U) MPs were seen protesting against delay in granting special state category to Bihar. Earlier, amid differences over amendments on the crucial Telangana Bill, BJP today stepped up pressure for bringing the bill in the Rajya Sabha which remained paralysed following pandemonium over various issues.
Amid din created by members over Telangana, special status for Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal besides the Tamil fishermen and reservation for backward classes issues, Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP) demanded that the Telangana bill be taken up for discussion. "Where is the Telangana Bill? Where is it? Where is the government?" he said, amid chants of "Telangana bill lao (bring Telangana bill)" by BJP members. While Kurien sought the views of the House for consideration and passage of the Whistleblower's Bill, BJP insisted that though they were ready for discussion on the bill they wanted the government to first bring the Telangana bill.
As uproar in the House continued with members of various parties on their feet and inside the Well, shouting slogans and demanding their issues be taken up first, V Maitreyan (AIADMK) jostled with marshals to reach up to the Chair. Maitreyan was demanding a discussion on Tamil fishermen issue and sought the presence of Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister to answer their queries. As Kurien refused to take up the issue saying he did not speak on the Calling Attention Motion when he was asked to do so, Maitreyan protested and snatched a book kept next to the podium but the marshals took back the book from him. Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice within an hour after it met post-lunch at 2 PM. The House witnessed three adjournments in the pre-lunch sitting.
(Source-MSN News)
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