The Assembly will finally debate the resolution submitted by Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy rejecting the AP Reorganisation Bill 2013 referred to the legislature by President Pranab Mukherjee.
Assembly sources said the resolution would be taken up on Wednesday, if possible, or on Thursday if there is a “semblance of normalcy’’ in the House. The Assembly, however, is unlikely to take up voting on clauses as the deadline concluding the discussion is Thursday. The amendments, numbering 9,024, will be sent en bloc with the Bill to the President.
A decision to this effect was taken at a hurriedly convened meeting of the Business Advisory Committee on Tuesday. Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar flatly turned down the request of the Telangana MLAs to reject the Chief Minister’s resolution moved under Rule 77.
Mr. Manohar had clarified at the outset resolutions moved by the Chief Minister and Ministers would stand on a different footing and no period of notice was prescribed for them. Quoting precedents in the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar Assemblies, he also said there was scope for voting on the resolutions moved by the members seeking clause-wise amendments.
The Speaker, however, made it plain that the Bill and its clauses could not straightaway be put to vote the issue lay in the domain of Parliament.
Consensus eluded the BAC meeting as the Telangana and Seemandhra MLAs remained firm on their stand for and against bifurcation. Finance Minister Anam Ramanarayan Reddy and other Seemandhra MLAs sought more time for the debate and voting on the clauses, while the Telangana Ministers held that there was no need to seek further extension.
The TRS, BJP, MIM, CPI and the MIM members along with the Telangana members of the Congress and the TDP were firm that the debate should be concluded so that the Bill was returned in time. The Finance Minister said only 87 out of the 279 members spoke so far and time should be given to ensure all the members expressed their views.
