Telangana state a reality now

Govt pushes Bill in Lok Sabha

• Six-decade-long dream of Telangana region fulfilled
• Seemandhra Ministers, MPs protest in the Well
• Almost 40 MPs from BJD, CPM, AIADMK etc join them
• BJP had insisted on debate and order, but gave in
• Govt shuts down telecast of LS proceedings
• Shinde assures special package for Seemandhra
• A number of amendments by MIM and TMC negated.
• An emotional Ponnam Prabhakar touches Sonia’s feet
• Bifurcation Bill to be tabled in Rajya Sabha today

New Delhi: The 60-year-long struggle for separate Telangana attained fruition, when the Telangana Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, amid pandemonium and noisy scenes. Slogans of "We want united Andhra Pradesh" and "Save Andhra Pradesh" were raised by Seemandhra Ministers and MPs, who had trooped into the well of the House.

Unfazed by the din in the House and the gherao of around 25-27 MPs from SP and Congress, as also BSP MPs, who were demanding SC/ST Bill, Speaker Meira Kumar continued to transact the business, even going for division, when pressed for it, through head-count. All the amendments moved by Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde were passed, while those moved by MIM Chief Assaduddin Owaisi and Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy were negated through head-count.

The Speaker insisted that as per the rules, the division is done through head-count when there was din the House and voting by pressing of the buttons is not possible. In all, 62 amendments were moved that took around one-and-a-half hours for passing the AP Reorganisation Bill, 2014.

Earlier in the day, the House had to be adjourned thrice due to the din and finally when it reassembled at 3 pm, the government with a determined mind, decided to push ahead with the Bill. The principal Opposition party, the BJP, supported the Bill, but not before Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj attacked the government for not evolving a consensus on the Bill. The BJP did not move any amendment and would press for it in the RS on Wednesday.

According to Sushma Swaraj, the party did not consider that the Bill had been introduced and it was only later that it took the decision of moving the amendments in the Upper House. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, she said the UPA had promised a separate State of Telangana in its election manifesto in 2004, but failed to bring it in its first tenure. The then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram made the announcement on December 9, 2009, that they were starting the process of forming the separate State, but again they failed in their efforts and brought it in the the last session of the 15th Lok Sabha.

She pointed out that there were several legal infirmities in the Bill that called for Constitution Amendment that included giving powers to the Governor for controlling law & order in the State. She urged upon the government not to bring a "defective" Bill and promised the Seemandhra people that when they will come to power, they will do justice to them.

Sushma Swaraj said that the BJP was supporting the Telangana Bill as the party had promised to support the Bill all along. She said that after the passage of the Bill, the people from the region will praise Sonia Gandhi but they should also not forget "Chinnamma," who has all along supported the Bill.

Exuberant Science & Technology Minister S Jaipal Reddy thanked Congress President Sonia Gandhi profusely for making Telangana a reality. He said Telangana has become a reality because of the resolve of "one person, one lady and that is Sonia Gandhi." Similarly, Ponnam Prabhakar, MP from Telangana, touched the feet of Sonia Gandhi in the midst of the Bill being passed.

Speaking after Sushma Swaraj, Jaipal Reddy said that the demand for a separate State was being made since the last 60 years. He refuted the Leader of Opposition that the Congress had passed the Bill just for electoral reasons, wanting to know that when Chidambaram made the announcement on December 9, 2009, were there any elections? He reminded her that the BJP has been supporting Telangana for the last 45 years since the days of Bharatiya Jana Sangh. He was pained, therefore, to hear dissenting voice of L K Advani on the issue.

Trinamool Congress and JD (U) walked out of the House in protest of the Bill, but not before Saugata Roy from the TMC objected to the manner in which the Telangana Bill was passed. He even pressed for division initially but resented the way in which the head-count was conducted to negate his couple of amendments. "We are not sheep," he told the Speaker and asked her to count the numbers in a "proper way." The Speaker reminded him that she was conducting the House in a perfect way and was following Rule 367 by going for a head-count instead of a division by pressing the button.

MIM leader Assaduddin Owaisi moved several amendments that were all negated by head-count.

Among them were giving High Court to residuary State of Andhra Pradesh, continuous power supply for Telangana and Urdu to be made Second Official Language of the State. He also opposed giving law & order of Hyderabad to the Governor. Later, he said that if this Bill is passed in Rajya Sabha, he will challenge the specific clause, and not the Bill, in the Supreme Court.