Speaker leaves for Lucknow

• To study modalities adopted by UP Assembly during state division

• CM had called for studying conventions followed by other States

Hyderabad: To explore all possible avenues to ensure discussion on the Telangana draft Bill when the State Assembly meets on January 3, Assembly Speaker N Manohar left for Lucknow to the study the modalities adopted by the Uttar Pradesh Assembly during the division.

Speaker, who left on Wednesday, will study the modalities that were adopted by the UP Assembly when the State’s Reorganisation Bill was sent to it. He will also visit Bihar to undertake a similar study.

It may be recalled that Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, while speaking to the media last week, quoted the examples of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar assemblies and said that the presiding officers of the Assembly and the Legislative Council should study the procedures followed by those Assemblies before holding the discussion on the Telangana draft Bill.

He stressed that voting had taken place on the State Reorganisation Bill in those assemblies and felt that the conventions, rules and procedures should be same for all the State assemblies.

Meanwhile, TDP, YSRCP and Lok Satta also expressed similar opinions.

However, the TRS leaders felt that the Centre had sent the Telangana draft Bill under Article 3 of the Constitution and the President had clearly stated that it was to seek the opinion of the Legislature. Hence the Bill was different from those two States.

In case of Andhra Pradesh, the decision by the Centre was taken to divide the State based on the opinions expressed by all political parties while in the case of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, their respective assemblies had first passed resolutions seeking division, they added.