Tension is building up in the Legislative Assembly as the deadline for returning the AP Reorganisation Bill 2013 stipulated by President Pranab Mukherjee is set to end on Thursday.
The Telangana and Seemandhra legislators continued to disrupt the proceedings with their respective demands in favour of and against bifurcation of the State. The Telangana MLAs are demanding that the Bill be returned at the earliest to enable the Parliament to take the bifurcation process ahead while their Seemandhra counterparts are firm that the deadline be extended by few more weeks to facilitate elaborate debate and clause-wise voting on the Bill.
The resolution moved by Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy rejecting the bifurcation Bill outright took the centre-stage on Wednesday with Telangana MLAs opposing it and the Seemandhra members extending their support. Soon as the proceedings commenced, Seemandhra MLAs rushed to the well demanding that a debate be held on the Chief Minister’s resolution and subsequently voting claiming it was the only way to express the “view of the House”.
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Sensing that there was possibility for commencement of debate on the resolution, Telangana MLAs insisted that there were no scope for voting on the Bill in the Assembly. Repeated appeals by Speaker Nadendla Manohar went in vain as pro-Telangana and pro-united State slogans rent the air.
The Seemandhra TDP MLAs joined the chorus with the Congress carrying placards in support of voting on the Bill. Even as the House was adjourned for the day without transacting any business, the TDP members continued their sit in inside the House in protest against adjournment of the proceedings without voting on the Bill.
The Telangana MLAs on their part remained firm on the demand that the Chief Minister withdraw his resolution. As utter chaos prevailed, Speaker Nadendla Manohar adjourned the House twice. There was no change in the situation when the House resumed for the third time in the afternoon as the Telangana MLAs continued their protests against extension.
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The Chief Minister who spoke to the press after the adjournment expressed his dissatisfaction at the way the debate was not allowed. “When they (the Telangana MLAs) are confident that the Assembly has no say on the Bill, why are they hesitating to allow discussion and voting?” a visibly irritated Mr. Kiran Reddy said.