After showing initial euphoria over the Assembly’s Business Advisory Committee’s decision over amendments to clauses of the draft AP Reorganisation Bill, Telangana MLAs across the political spectrum did a U- turn on Tuesday by rejecting the move.
As soon as they received a report from the Leader of the House, N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, on the BAC’s decisions, Telangana Congress, TRS, TDP and BJP legislators met at Panchayat Raj Minister K. Jana Reddy’s chambers in the Assembly lobbies. Like on Monday, they hailed it initially after Mr. Jana Reddy was told by Deputy Chief Minister C. Damodar Raja Narasimha not to worry.
But they soon realised their folly apparently after hectic consultations among themselves, then with the two Ministers and experts outside. The legislators came to the conclusion that allowing amendments to the clauses in the format circulated to them today and the voting to be taken up later could be risky as this could delay and derail the bifurcation process. They soon saw a conspiracy both by the Speaker and the Chief Minister, in coming up with such a proposal and sat down to redraw their strategy.
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Worried over development, groups of Telangana MLAs from these four parties met the Speaker to lodge their protest and submit letters registering their opposition to the amendments. They wanted him to withdraw the report from Mr. Kiran Reddy on BAC’s decisions. Their argument was that the President had referred the Bill to the Assembly for only expressing their views and returning it by January 23.
A senior Minister said when the President’s directive is only to give the views of the members, it was ridiculous on the part of the Chief Minister and other Seemandhra leaders to insist on amendments and voting.