Jana questions Kiran’s claims

Asks him to clarify whether he was opposing the Bill as leader of the House or as member

K. Jana Reddy. File photo

The vertical split in the Congress on the regional lines came to the fore yet again when Minister K. Jana Reddy raised the a banner of revolt against Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy in the Assembly on Wednesday.

He strongly objected to the Chief Minister’s assertion that he was totally opposed to the A. P. Reorganisation Bill. “He should clarify whether he conveyed his opposition as a leader of the House or as an MLA,” the Minister said.

TRS members join issue

Mr. Jana Reddy said the Telangana MLAs were not prepared to become party to his claims if he made them in his capacity as the leader of the House.

His comments raised a furore in the Assembly with the TRS members also demanding a clarification and rushing into the well.

Uproar

Telangana Congress MLAs too were on their feet, but they remained in their seats following requests from senior members.

Pandemonium prevailed for some time as the members raised slogans, but they resumed their seats following Mr. Jana Reddy’s request.

Anam intervenes

Finance Minister Anam Ramanarayan Reddy appealed to the members to allow the proceedings as the deadline for completing the debate was fast approaching. “We have requested the President to extend the deadline, but there is no reply so far. There are only 24 hours left for the members to furnish their views on the crucial issue,” he said.

SC observation cited

Mr. Jana Reddy later cited an observation by the Supreme Court that the Parliament was vested with powers to create new States and there was no scope for voting on the clauses.