Is it Jairam’s or Centre’s view, questions CM

Hyderabad: Challenging the statement made by the Union Minister Jairam Ramesh that the "draft Bill" and the "Bill" (related to AP Reorganisation) were the same, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy said that the Centre should clarify if it is the personal view of a Union Minister or if it is its view. In a brief interaction with the media in the Assembly lobbies, Kiran said that “Original Bill means the Bill which is ready to be tabled in the Parliament. If the Bill doesn't contain all relevant information, on what issue will we express our views? If a proper Bill is sent to us, we can give our opinion.”

Kiran maintained that the Bill, referred to the state Legislature by the President, was full of mistakes and lacunae. In fact, the Centre itself is not clear whether it is a draft Bill or the (actual) Bill. The Bill, he said, does not contain the 'objects and reasons', the scope of proposals or the financial memorandum. It has not been specified in the Bill why are they (the Centre) seeking to divide the state, Reddy pointed out. "How could we (state Legislature) express our views on the Bill without the Centre stating its views. Initially, they said it's the Bill. When we sought clarifications, objects and reasons and financial memorandum, the Union Home Secretary replied it's only a draft Bill," he added.