The Lok Sabha was briefly adjourned on Tuesday when members from Andhra Pradesh clashed with each other over the creation of Telangana State.
Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the House for 15 minutes when some Congress members joined the four Telugu Desam Party (TDP) members in opposing the division of the State. This evoked a strong protest from the members of the Telangana region.
Trouble began as soon as the House met for the day. The TDP members displayed placards demanding a unified Andhra Pradesh and raised slogans against the creation of Telangana State. They trooped into the well of the House, alleging that “people are dying” and “there was no government” in Andhra Pradesh. They relented only after the Speaker promised that they would be allowed to raise the matter during zero hour.
However, as soon as TDP’s K. Narayana Rao rose during zero hour to voice his opposition to the division of the State, Congress members from the Telangana region reacted angrily and welcomed the Centre’s decision to bifurcate the State.
Within minutes, the TDP members were back in the well of the House and Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, son of the former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, shook hands with them in solidarity. He also borrowed a placard from them as they shouted slogans in support of a united Andhra Pradesh. He was joined by Congress members K. Bapiraju, B. Jhansi Lakshmi, Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy and K.S. Rao. This forced the Speaker to adjourn the House for 15 minutes.
When the proceedings resumed, TDP members N. Sivaprasad, N. Kristappa, M. Venugopal Reddy and K. Narayana Rao once again demanded that the Centre reverse its decision.
As commotion prevailed, Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee asked the TDP members to return to their seats. He disapproved of the way they expressed their views. This was followed by an argument between them and Mr. Mukherjee. It was only when the Speaker said the TDP would get a chance to speak on the issue later in the day, order was restored.
In the Rajya Sabha, the issue came up during a zero hour mention made by senior Bharatiya Janata Party member Venkaiah Naidu. Congress members challenged his charge that the Centre had complicated the issue.
Mr. Naidu demanded a probe into how a Union Minister made the announcement on the issue outside when Parliament was in session. His plea for a statement from a Minister was turned down.
Agitated by the manner in which Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy and some other members raised the demand for a united Andhra in the House, Congress members from Telangana met Defence Minister A. K. Antony – who is also chairman of the party’s Disciplinary Action Committee – and urged him to take action against the Kadapa MP and son of the former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy.
As demands for disciplinary action against him gathered steam, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy sought to justify the stance he took in the Lok Sabha as an attempt to prevent the TDP from hijacking the demand for a united Andhra.
Later, Andhra-Rayalseema MPs met Mr. Antony to state their case. Both groups were apparently advised by the Minister to hold their fire and not aggravate matters.
