Approaching the Supreme Court appears to be the only hope now to stop the bifurcation of the State, said a senior leader from the YSR Congress. Not only the YSR Congress but even the Seemandhra Advocates JAC has decided to file a Public Interest Litigation against the UPA government in the Supreme Court within a day or two.
“A decision has been taken to file the PIL and we shall bring to light on how the A.P. Reorganisation Bill was passed in an undemocratic fashion in both the Houses of Parliament, ”said YSRC leader P. Gowtham Reddy.
The Bezwada Bar Association president and Seemandhra Advocates' JAC convener Matta Jayakar told The Hindu that the process of passing the Bill in both the houses has attracted legal implications and we have full hope that the Apex Court would revoke the decision of both the houses.
According to him, the rule of law was not followed by the Congress-led UPA government.
“The amendment of Article 371 E and D was a must before division of the State. Communications and IT and Law and Justice Minister Kapil Sibal claimed that the amendment of the articles was not necessary as per Article 368, but the Constitution does not say so,” he said. Article 371 E and 371 D were made part of the Constitution through the 32nd amendment. While 371 E facilitates the creation of educational institutions such as Central University, 371 D gives a special status to the State and deals with the zonal issue of the State government employees.
According to the Director of GITAM School of Law and former Vice-Chancellor of AP University of Law (currently known as Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University) Y. Satyanarayana, as per the constitutional provisions, before the division of the State, the amendment was essential and it has been ignored. Both Jayakar and Gowtham Reddy were of the opinion that the UPA government had grossly ignored the setting up of a second States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) and the Sri Krishna Committee report, and went ahead with the bifurcation, and it will definitely attract the legal implications.
Many senior citizens and intellectuals of the city feel that the Supreme Court will intervene through the PILs, but it all seems to be a game that is being played.
“If the Apex Court rescinds Parliament decision on bifurcation, both the BJP and the Congress will not lose their face in the Telangana region and will say ‘We have tried our best but the SC has rejected’, and on the other hand the TDP and the YSRC will score a few brownie points in the Seemandhra region, piggy-riding on the SC’s decision,” said a senior professor from an engineering college.
