Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy is firm about ensuring that a resolution is passed in the state Assembly and Council against the creation of Telangana state, when the session recommences from January 3, 2014.
There is speculation he may quit his post once the Legislature session closes by January 23, after the Telangana debate.
Kiran for voting on T Bill soon
Sources close to Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy say that before he resigns he wants to ensure that a symbolic resolution is passed seeking the Centre’s intervention to keep the state united. This will make it clear to the nation that the Centre is proceeding with the formation of Telangana state much against the majority wish of the elected representatives of the state.
After returning from Delhi, the Chief Minister contacted some of his confidants and instructed them to move such a resolution in accordance with the rules. He also told them to move as many amendments as they could to the various clauses in the Telangana Bill, and insist on voting so that it will be proved that a majority of the members are opposing various provisions.
The Chief Minister has reportedly been advised by legal pundits that if some amendments are moved and an appropriate resolution against Telangana is passed, these will be useful as evidences should the matter reach the higher courts.
The Chief Minister reportedly cited one such resolution by the Bihar Assembly against the formation of Vananchal State (Jharkhand) proposed by the then United Front government, in 1998. It was agreed to by the Bihar Assembly later only after arriving at a consensus among all political parties. But, still, several amendments were proposed and voting took place on each clause in the Re-Organisation Bill sent to both Bihar and UP by the President.
The Chief Minister also reportedly remarked that when he earlier said that voting has to take place on various clauses of the Bill, several leaders took it lightly and even ridiculed his claim, but now it is established that even during Speaker Nadendla Manohar’s visit to Patna and Lucknow, those states had also moved amendments and decided on voting.
One thing is very clear from the Chief Minister’s latest move: the forthcoming Assembly session is going to be a stormy one.
Pro-Telangana legislators will place every obstacle in the way of Seema-andhra legislators moving a resolution to the draft bill. They will insist that any amendment must be moved and voted on only in Parliament, and whatever amendments are passed in the State Legislature will not have any standing.
