Andhra Pradesh stood on the threshold of fresh political turbulence after a majority of elected representatives from Telangana, including 11 Ministers, submitted their resignations to put pressure on the Centre to make an early announcement in favour of a separate State.
The one-line resignation letters handed over by them to the presiding officers of both Houses of the State Legislature had a more ominous ring than last year as they were written in the format prescribed under the rules.
The Congress began a fire-fighting exercise with AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad requesting the legislators not to take any decision in haste as the Centre was trying to arrive at consensus on the “sensitive” issue, while Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy met his Ministers and asked them to discharge their duties.
Of the 119 MLAs from Telangana (one seat is vacant), as many as 81 MLAs, a dozen Members of Parliament, including one from the Rajya Sabha, and 17 MLCs belonging to the Congress, the TDP and others put in their papers. The Congress government will, however, get a breather for at least five days since no decision can be taken on the resignations until the return of Assembly Speaker N. Manohar from the United States on July 9.
Minister for Panchayat Raj K. Jana Reddy, who spearheaded the Congress leaders' resignations, denied that their action was aimed at creating a political or constitutional crisis. Emboldened by the dramatic turn of events, the Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) called a 48-hour bandh for July 5 and 6.
The former APCC president, K. Kesava Rao, who is a member of the Rajya Sabha, submitted his letter to the Officer on Special Duty to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, while the Lok Sabha members met Speaker Meira Kumar and personally handed over their letters. These members are Ponnam Prabhakar, M. Jagannath, G. Vivekanand, G. Sukhender Reddy, P. Balram Naik, K. Rajagopal Reddy and Siricilla Rajaiah. Two others — Madhu Yaskhi Goud and Suresh Shetkar — faxed their letters while two TDP MPs, Nama Nageswara Rao and Ramesh Rathod, will give their letters on Tuesday.
Lok Sabha Secretary-General T.K. Viswanathan told The Hindu that no decision had been taken by the Speaker on the letters and added there was no time limit for deciding on them.
The former Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha, P.D.T. Achary, said normally the Speaker would ensure that the resignation letter was in the format prescribed by the Lok Sabha and personally meet the member to make sure that the decision (to quit) was taken voluntarily.
About those letters sent by fax, he said the member concerned would be asked to appear before her in person and she would record whether the decision was voluntary.
Mr. Kesava Rao dismissed criticism that the “resignation” was a “gimmick” and said they were identifying themselves with the Telangana people. “The Centre on December 9, 2009 virtually announced Telangana. But it has not been implemented. Now, we are helpless before the Telangana people,” he said.
To a question, he said the MPs could consider withdrawing their letters if there was a “concrete assurance” from the Congress leadership on the formation of Telangana within a time frame.
Keywords: Telangana issue, resignation drama, Congress, TDP, YSR Congress
Why do some members keep insisting that a majority of the public wish to have a separate Telangana? If that were true why did the TRS, a party which is surviving on this single plank of statehood, win 11 seats in the assembly (equates to 3% of general vote)? Wait till the 2014 elections and the public will have a fair chance to proclaim their wishes. In the meantime, politicians should govern, students should pay attention to their studies and the JAC should desist from calling bandhs and inconveniencing the public. Can anyone debate about this sensible option? The whole drama of the public in Telangana being exploited by the Seemandhra folks would sit well in a Telugu movie script. The rich have always exploited the poor. Statehood is not going to solve this problem. The people who moan about unequal opportunities need to grow up and become competitive. Such is life.
The whole issue is one created by a bunch of irresponsible, politically bankrupt, power hungry politicians. AP is reeling economically because of their machinations. The only thing they are good at is misleading the public. Any perceived grievances should be sorted out by discussion, debate and negotiation not resignations. These political dramas don't do any good for public services. They all need a lesson in good governance.
Did I just get younger by 18 months or is The Hindu carrying out old articles?All parties concerned have been repeating the same things since 2009 December.Let us hope the rulers grow some Political will to take decisions.
Pushed to resign , actually congress leaders have no choice but to resign , when people from JAC or TRS are breaking into their houses or surrounding them pushing these guys to resign . There is no democracy in this aspect, it also shows the weakness of the ruling govt who couldn't take appropriate steps to curb the movement .
Whenever a new state is created on the issue of development of its people, it has been seen that the condition of people remains same or worse but the leader or politician are always benefited.See Jharkhand which is being run by one chief minister and two deputy chief minister and the assets collected by its former chief minister Mr. Madhu Koda. The said state was created for the development of the people of jharkhand but still there is corruption on its peak point.leaders are more concerned for their own welfare than the welfare of its people. But still people think that their development lies with creation of another state then they should go for it...
A genuine demand of the people of Telangana is being immorally, illegally and brutally being supressed by the Government in synch with vested interests. The peoples' representatives of Telangana have no alternative but bow to people's wishes. Government should understand that expedient formation of Telangana is the only solution to peace in peninsular India.
That means the Congress party and the TRS have already agreed upon the formation of the Telengana State in the near future. To make the most of the time, they have joined together to stage this drama so that the party will be always considered as the Founding Father of the new state, giving it a leverage over other parties in the region . The financial implications of having such an advantage will not have to be elaborated to those in the power as no one can form a single party government in any state or centre in India and that rule or situation stands intact for Telengana state as well.
Even the then Prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru initially was skeptical of merging Telangana with Andhra State, fearing a "tint of expansionist />imperialism" in it.[24][25] He compared the merger to a matrimonial alliance having 'provisions for divorce' if the partners in the alliance cannot get on well.
This will prompt separation movement in other states too !
They are doing this in greed of power and not for the people benifit. Why the innocent people has to suffer for their so-called 'strike'?? In the name of strike they will destroy the public property and for those damages again we people has to pay from our pockets in the name of tax. And even because of these, the exams are getting hampered. Its beter atleast now people should open their eyes and shouldn't fall in those culprit hands. They should carry on their routine work without implementing the strike.
Every educated person can understand the cruel desire of these miscreants for the political power. These MLAs and MP are playing with emotions of Telangana and Andhra civilians by involving and provoking innocent people of the state to commit suicides. Can't they understand the loss of an year or two in the life of a student? does their brain still functioning ? if so please let the people live their own and personal lives by putting stop mark for purposeless bandh calls . If you don't know how to rule and develop the united andhra pradesh ..go home and keep your all holes shut. The great Mr.Potti Sriramulu wouldn't sacrifice his life if he could have thought about separation of Andhra pradesh.My sincere request to all the students is ,don't spoil your lives for the sake of this mind less politicians ,don't sacrifice your lives which were gifted by your parents to cherish them in the right way.
Speaker may have powers under the constitution to delay indefinitely accepting any and all resignations but it is certainly against the spirit of the constitution. Speaker's powers under the anti-defection laws are also being used and abused by whoever is in power. These need to be written in stone and not left it to the whim of political jokers whoever happens to be in power. Speaker's role should be limited to examining the resignation - whether or not the resignation was tendered without any pressure and no conditions are attached to the resignation, and it must be disposed off in a timely manner. It is disheartening to know that while speaker is away for extended periods of time, matters of utmost importance are put in abeyance and a proper delegation of authority is not spelled out for a constitutional post like Speaker of the Legislative house.
The resignations are irresponsible. Every one knows that only the politician stand to benefits by dividing the state. The move has come at a wrong time, making several prospective students from EAMCET apply to colleges outside Telangana, even though parents are residing in Hyderabad. Separatism in Punjab could be tackled with a firm hand. A similar boldness is required from the Central Government now.
Do all andhra people agree on it?
India has a constitution. Creation of a State has to be decided by the elected representative of the Country not by few MLA or MPs. So the Central Government should look at the National Interest and the cost of creating a State. A State should not be created just for benefit of few people. When whole world is coming together for various region like in Europe, trying have numerable States in India is counter productive. So Centre should be firm in this respect. Democracy does not mean that India would have 1 Billion states. You already has a family unit for that. Hope reason will prevail over emotion.
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