Hyderabad: Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy informed Seemandhra ministers that he had a surprise up his sleeve to stall bifurcation of the state which he will use at the end of his speech on the Telangana Bill in the Assembly.
As soon as he arrived at the Assembly on Thursday, the Chief Minister summoned Seemandhra ministers to his chambers.
Ministers Botsa Satyanarayana, Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, Vatti Vasantha Kumar, Dokka Manikya Varaprasad, Pasupulati Balaraju, Sake Sailajanath, Shatrucharla Vijayarama Raju, Kanna Laxminarayana, Kolusu Parthasaradhi, Pithani Satyanarayana and others rushed to the Chief Minister’s chamber.
MP Vundavalli Arun Kumar and senior MLA Gade Venkata Reddy also attended the meeting. The Chief Minister discussed his speech with the ministers and infor-med them that he had received a phone call from Delhi that President Pranab Mukherjee had agreed to extend the deadline by a week.
The state government is yet to receive any communiqué from Rashtrapati Bhavan with regard to extending the deadline.
Explaining his strategy in the Assembly on the Telangana Bill, the Chief Minister told them that he will move a resolution in favour of a united state and demand for voting on it. The Chief Minister also disclosed to them that he had a secret weapon which he will use at the end of his speech.
According to sources, one minister read this point in the Chief Minister’s written speech and agreed it was a valid point.
After the meeting, one minister expressed surprise at the Chief Minister's impromptu meeting as he generally does not share anything with the ministers.
In view of one national TV news channel harping about the Chief Minister’s resignation, many ministers thought that the Chief Minister wanted to announce his resignation when they were summoned.
Meanwhile, in the Business Advisory meeting (BAC) which was held on Thursday, the TRS and MIM members asked Speaker Nadendla Manohar to take a decision on putting the matter to vote or to move a resolution. The Speaker reacted favourably to their suggestion.
Next: More time to debate T; Kiran happiest
President gives 7 more days to AP Assembly to discuss Telangana Bill
New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday gave seven more days to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly till January 30 to discuss and debate the draft Telangana bill before returning it to the Centre which promised to table the legislation in the upcoming session of Parliament.
The President's decision came following a request from the Andhra Pradesh government which sought four weeks extension of the January 23 deadline fixed by him while sending the bill to the state Assembly.
Official sources said the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill now has to be returned by the state Assembly by January 30 with or without its view. However, experts are of the opinion that whatever the Assembly does, Parliament can go ahead with its legislative process for creation of the new state.
Sources said the state government had conveyed that the bill has been debated by the Assembly only for a few days and many of the legislators were yet to speak on it and hence extension of the deadline was required. There are precedents of giving extension of deadline to debate state reorganisation bills.
The Madhya Pradesh Assembly was given extended time by the then President to discuss and approve the bill for creation of Chhattisgarh.
"We are clear in our mind that the Telangana bill will be brought in this session of Parliament. It is a commitment we have made," Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde he told reporters here.
Parliament session commences on February five and is scheduled to end on February 21.
"Lets see if Andhra Pradesh Assembly passes the resolution by January 30," he said.
The Union Cabinet had on December 5 given the go-ahead for the creation of a 10-district Telangana and outlined the blueprint for carving out the country's 29th state. Telangana will comprise 10 districts and the rest of Andhra Pradesh will consist of 13 districts.
Hyderabad will remain the common capital for both the states for a period not exceeding 10 years.
Next: AP CM announces deadline extension; gives go-by to procedure
AP CM announces deadline extension; gives go-by to procedure
Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy could not contain his glee after it was reported on Thursday that the President had extended time for the AP legislature to return the draft AP Re-organisation Bill-2013 until January 30.
The AP CM gave a go-by to procedure and himself announced in the AP Assembly that the deadline to return the draft Bill has been extended.
"If you want, I will postpone my speech. We now have time until January 30 to discuss and return the draft Bill," Kiran said, even as members from Telangana rushed into the well of the House protesting facts and figures which were being reeled out by him about sharing resources between Seemandhra and Telangana regions.
At around 1 PM on Thursday, reports from Delhi about extension of time ended the 24-hour anxiety which had gripped Seemaandhra legislators, including the AP CM about whether or not the President would concede their request.
Since Wednesday, there was an unusual rush in Assembly proceedings as suspense continued over the President's decision.
The AP CM, who wanted to speak for several hours listing reasons to opposing Andhra Pradesh's bifurcation, hurriedly began his address late Wedensday evening even before the Leader of Opposition spoke.
On Thursday, AP Speaker Nadendla Manohar gave each legislator around four minutes to speak on the draft Bill so that the debate could be wound up before night when the original deadline was supposed to end. The AP CM came to the Assembly only after 12.30 pm, even as conflicting reports emanated from New Delhi.
Finally, after 1 PM, when it was clear that the deadline has been extended, the AP CM continued with his address after more than 30 MLAs from either side of the regional divide expressed their views on the draft Bill. However, his address was marred by frequent disruptions by Telangana members who sought to debunk his claims on irrigation water, electricity and coal supplies.
As Telangana members continued the din, the Speaker adjourned the House for ten minutes and later adjourned the proceedings to enable the Business Advisory Committee to take a decision on the extended session after Legislature Secretary Raja Sadaram formally read out the Presidential communique.
The Assembly will now meet continuously from Friday until January 30, except the holiday on January 26, to complete the debate on the draft Bill.
There was, however, no clarity on whether or not the Bill would be put to vote.
As many as 9024 amendments and suggestions proposed by members from Seemaandhra and Telangana regions would have to be considered before the 'views of the Legislature' are communicated to the President of India.
