The Telangana Rashtra Samiti has appealed to President Pranab Mukherjee not to extend the January 23 deadline he has set for eliciting the views of the State Legislature on the A.P. Reorganisation Bill 2013.
MPs G. Vivekanand and Manda Jagannatham and former Minister G. Vinod called on the President at Rashtrapati Nilayam on Sunday. They explained the political situation prevalent in the State since the past few months ever since the Congress Working Committee gave its green signal for Telangana and complained about efforts being made by Seemandhra leaders to stall the process.
The TRS leaders wanted him to ensure that there was no further delay in the passage of the Bill in Parliament. “The President told us that he would follow the constitutional norms as soon as he receives the Bill,” Mr. Vivekanand said, adding that the delegation had also complained to the President about the “delaying tactics” being resorted to by Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy.
Meanwhile, 18 Seemandhra MLAs of the Opposition, TDP, led by D. Narendra and P. Keshav also called on Mr. Pranab Mukherjee this evening. They wanted the President to direct the Centre to recall the Bill and address the concerns of Seemandhra region first before proceeding with the bifurcation. They complained that the Centre had made the announcement on bifurcation of the State with an eye on the upcoming general elections for political gains.
In a six-page memorandum submitted to him, they alleged that there were several shortcomings in the draft Bill that would pose problems for the two regions. There was no clarity on key aspects like common capital, the Governor’s powers and river water sharing. The TDP MLAs alleged that there was no mention of the common capital in the Constitution as also the powers proposed to be vested in the institution of the Governor after bifurcation. While the rights of the State in deciding about water allocation were proposed to be curbed, there was no clarity on sharing the revenue accruing to Hyderabad as the State capital.
