Finally taking the bow after a vain fight against the State bifurcation, Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy is likely to resign on Tuesday once Parliament takes up debate on the AP Reorganisation Bill 2013.
This development, in all likelihood, could pave the way for imposition of President’s Rule in the State.
An indication that Mr. Reddy had made up his mind to quit came after it became clear that BJP could support the Bill in Parliament. Till Sunday, he was dissuaded by his aides to wait for a couple of days as the BJP maintained that the Bill was not introduced in the Parliament.
Sources said Mr. Reddy is expected to seek an appointment with Governor E. S. L. Narasimhan any time after mid-day on Tuesday. “It is confirmed that Mr. Reddy is quitting. There is no way he will continue in office after the debate commences in the Parliament,” a close aide of the Chief Minister disclosed to The Hindu on Monday night.
It is understood that he is in no mood to continue as a caretaker Chief Minister. “There is no other option but to impose President’s rule on the lines of Delhi,” a senior Minister said.
Sources in the PCC maintain that the Congress high command is not in a position to convene the Congress Legislature Party meeting given the regional polarisation among the Telangana and Seemandhra legislators. “In such a chaotic situation, it will not be proper to impose a Chief Minister for the troubled State. Electing the new CLP leader will be a Herculean task,” it was pointed out.
The day also marked sharp division among the Seemandhra Congress leaders with Mr. Reddy’s detractors holding parleys at the residence of PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana. They squarely blamed him for the present crisis and failing to stall the bifurcation process. A group of Chief Minister’s loyalists too met him at the Camp office to review the situation. In Delhi, the Seemandhra Union Ministers and MPs met the AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi with their demands. Earlier, they met BJP leader L. K. Advani and appealed that the amendments they suggested should be included in the Bill.
Published - February 18, 2014 02:54 am IST
