The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday charged the Congress with playing a “double game” by getting the Telangana Bill passed amid din. The party, however, agreed to support the Bill because it said it was “committed”' to the creation of Telangana.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said the party realised that the Congress was looking for an excuse to pin the blame on it for stalling the Bill. She said the Congress had expected the BJP to reject the Telangana Bill amid an uproar.
“They would have appeased both sides; the pro-Telangana side would have been told that the BJP stalled the Bill and the Seemandhara side would have been happy too. We sensed the game and spoilt it by supporting the Bill,” she said.
Ms. Swaraj said the BJP was happy it fulfilled its commitment to the Telangana issue but added that the government should now address the “concerns of the Seemandhra region and there should be justice for them as well.”
The BJP has also made reference to the “flaws” in the Bill; it has put on record that the government has not accepted its demand for a Constitution amendment to the provision in the Bill that gives the Governor charge for law and order. “Despite our repeated assurance that we will support the Bill if they bring the Constitutional amendment, the government has not done so,”' she said.
On why the BJP agreed to pass the Bill amid uproar and with no amendments moved by the party, Ms. Swaraj said: “The 30 or so amendments that have been incorporated are by the government after discussions with our MP M. Venkaiah Naidu.”