In his first ever address in this session of Parliament, the former Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, said on Friday that the commitment made by him two years ago to give special status to Andhra Pradesh should be fulfilled, as the Rajya Sabha discussed a private member Bill on the issue.
Dr. Singh appealed to the House to honour the commitment made by him in the Rajya Sabha on February 20, 2014 to grant special status to Andhra Pradesh. He argued that his Cabinet had also approved an ordinance for the same, but it got delayed because the model code of conduct for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls came into effect.
The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, moved by K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao of the Congress, was, however, referred to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, amid the uproar by the Congress, which led to adjournment of the House for the day. Finance Minister and Leader of the House Arun Jaitley raised objections to the Bill, saying it was a money Bill which could be taken up only by the Lok Sabha.
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“The Constitution does not give any power to the Chair [of the Rajya Sabha] to decide whether it is a money Bill or not... The point is that if the Chair has any doubt, he cannot decide... ...since the matter is in doubt, I refer it to the Speaker,” Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien said.
This enraged the Congress members who trooped into the well, alleging that the government failed to keep its promise. Mr. Jaitley said the government stood by its commitment to fulfil all legal conditions set by the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.