Hyderabad: Will he (the President) or won’t extend the deadline for the Telangana Bill? The suspense continues, and Telangana and Seemandhra MLAs are waiting equally eagerly for the decision of Pranab Mukherjee.
T-Bill deadline extension was the topic of discussion in the Assembly lobby on Monday. Many MLAs, including ministers, were seen enquiring about the “latest update”?on the extension.
Meanwhile, rumors went abuzz about an extension of 10 days having been granted. However, sources in the Assembly secretariat denied the news and said that they had not received any information.
One senior minister told the media that he had inside information about the President possibly extending the deadline to February3. The MLAs of Telangana and Seemandhra regions expressed mixed opinion on the deadline extension.
In the meantime, the Chief Minister, N Kiran Kumar Reddy, is preparing for a marathon speech on the Telangana Bill to be presented in the Assembly. According to sources, the Chief Minister has prepared more than 400 pages and plans to speak for one whole day.
Meanwhile, YSR Congress MLAs boycotted the debate on Telangana Bill in the Assembly as their leadership announced earlier that they will not participate in the debate, but will express their views on it.
YSRC MLAs stalled Assembly proceedings demanding voting on the Telangana Bill immediately after the House started on Monday. Speaker Nadendla Manohar repeatedly asked YSRC MLAs to leave the podium and to take their seats. But they raised slogans demanding voting on the Telangana Bill. This led to adjournment of the House for 30 minutes.
After the House reassembled the matter was taken up for debate. But YSRC MLAs did not attend. They said according to their party decision they will not participate in the debate. They said that they will attend the House when their members get a chance to express views on the Telangana Bill.
Next: MHA forwards CM’s T?debate letter to PM
MHA forwards CM’s T?debate letter to PM
Hyderabad: The ministry of home affairs on Monday started acting on a request made by Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy to extend the time for debate on the Telangana division Bill.
The MHA circulated the file pertaining to the state’s request to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Official sources told this newspaper that with the approval of the Prime Minister, the MHA will send the request to the President. The Chief Minister had written a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee, marking a copy to Chief Secretary P.K. Mohanty, who forwarded it to the MHA.
The Centre will not offer any comments on the request since, as a senior official said, it is the prerogative of the President to decide on the extension. The Chief Secretary has been forwarding to the Centre all communication received from both the Telangana and Seemandhra regions. Incidentally, the Chief Secretary left for Delhi on Monday evening.
