Will Assembly take up debate on Telangana bill on Monday?

While Telangana leaders want an immediate debate, Seemandhra leaders are toeing Kiran’s line and want to have it next month

A faceoff between Telangana and Seemandhra leaders appears imminent at the Assembly’s Business Advisory Committee meeting on Monday with the former insisting on initiating the debate on AP State Reorganisation Bill 2013 immediately while the latter is toeing the Chief Minister’s line to have it next month.

Sources said Speaker Nadendla Manohar will announce that he has received a communication from the President’s office, after which the Legislature Secretary S. Raja Sadaram will read the communiqué and then the Bill will be distributed to the members.

The Speaker would then convene a meeting of the BAC but questions are being raised on whether a debate is possible immediately. Telangana leaders are counting on the majority they have in the BAC to corner Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and thwart his attempt to delay the debate to January third week citing 42 days time given by the President and that it required translation into Telugu and Urdu.

Wary of his moves, Telangana MLAs and MLCs from Congress, TRS, BJP, TDP, CPI (M) and CPI plan to go all out and have fine-tuned their strategy. “The BAC members from Telangana will insist on taking up the debate immediately. We will suggest that it can be initiated by members who are ready to speak. Those who want to prepare by referring to translated copies and require time to read could do so after a couple of days,” TRS leader T. Harish Rao said.

Former PCC president D. Srinivas on Sunday was closeted with Legislative Affairs Minister D. Sridhar Babu and Housing Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy where they decided to foil the Chief Minister’s attempts. A Telangana Minister said some of them want to write a strongly worded letter to him reminding him that all through the three years in office, they had extended unequivocal support on all issues and he should now reciprocate.

On their part, camp followers of the Chief Minister assert that he has chalked out a counter strategy. Mr. Reddy has already hinted that the Bill cannot be passed without constitutional amendment to the Article 371 (D). The suggestion to seek clause by clause views of the individual legislators and the non-availability of the translated copies could delay the process, they feel.