The Telangana Bill will not be tabled in the monsoon session of Parliament beginning on August 5. Home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, while addressing a routine press conference on Friday in Delhi, said that it would take time to finish procedures and the new state might come into existence in six months.
“The Bill may be introduced in the next session of Parliament,” said Shinde. Usually, it takes eight to nine months for a new state to come into existence, said the home minister “But as for Telangana, we’ll try to finish all procedures may be in six months,” he said.
The minister said his ministry would prepare a note for the Cabinet and once the Cabinet clears it, a Group of Ministers (GoM) will be formed, which will give recommendations for the state reorganisation draft Bill. Once the draft Bill is cleared by the Union Cabinet, it will go to the state legislature. After getting the views of the state, the Bill will be tabled in both the houses of Parliament. Once it’s approved, it will be submitted for the President’s consent. “All these procedures need to be finished before bifurcating the state,” Shinde explained.
Meanwhile, in Andhra Pradesh, 30 Congress state legislators from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema (together called Seemandhra) have submitted their resignation. Their decision came after an emergency meeting held yesterday in Hyderabad in the backdrop of violent protests in Seemandhra region over the decision to separate Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.
In the meeting it was decided that all ministers and people’s representatives should quit their positions in protest against the Telangana decision by the Congress high command. However, four state ministers who announced their resignation after the meeting have put their decision on hold after getting assurance from Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy that he would urge the Congress high command to reconsider the decision to divide Andhra Pardseh.
Apart from Congress legislators, 12 Telugu Desam Party legislators, too, have submitted resignation under mounting pressure from people.
It has been decided that all the ministers and people’s representatives from Seemandhra would hold a meeting tomorrow to decide the future course of action.
Violent protests continue
For the third day running, Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema districts witnessed strong protests against bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. The agitators organised road blockades, bandh and resorted to arson and violence. The situation in Anantapur district was particularly tense after hundreds of people took to the streets. Police resorted to lathi-charge at Dharmavaram railway station to clear the mob from the tracks after the mob started pelting stones at the police force.