NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Friday passed a controversial Bill that allows transfer of seven mandals from Telangana to Andhra Pradesh to facilitate the Polavaram irrigation project amid vociferous protests from MPs belonging to the TRS, BJD and the Trinamool which called the legislation “unconstitutional”.
Pandemonium broke out on the floor of the Lok Sabha as soon as the AP Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill seeking to replace an Ordinance, and a statutory resolution disapproving it, was taken up, prompting TRS members to troop into the well of the House. They were supported by BJP members, who stood up in protest against the Bill.
TRS MP B. Vinod Kumar insisted that the Ordinance was “against the spirit of the Constitution” as it was brought about when a separate T state had already been formed. He pointed out that the opinion of the Telangana and AP Assem-blies should have been sought before bringing this Bill in Parliament. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan overruled the objections raised by Mr Vinod and Trinamul MP Saugata Roy, saying it was not necessary to have a separate discussion on the statutory resolution disapproving the AP Reorganisation (Ame-ndment) Ordinance that the Bill seeks to replace and later on the Bill.
