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Spl sop to Seemandhra
Spl sop to Seemandhra, Telangana Bill in Parliament, Sonia Gandhi, Rajya Sabha. Sonia's demand is akin to the one made by Rahul Gandhi who had asked Prime Minister to raise the cap of LPG cylinders from nine to 12 cylinders.
- Sonia urges PM to give it special category status
- Union Cabinet meeting today to take a call on it
New Delhi: In a tussle of one-upmanship and in the desperation to pass the Telangana Bill in Parliament, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to accord a special category status to Seemandhra for a period of five years.
The announcement took the wind out of the sails of the BJP, which had suddenly woken up to the need of raising the issues concerning Seemandhra by insisting on making the financial package a part of the Bill, Constitutional Amendments on the issues relating to Article 371 (D) and 371 (E) and bringing law & order in Hyderabad under the Governor.
After the special category status demand made by Sonia Gandhi, which in all likelihood will be accepted by the Prime Minister at the Union Cabinet Meeting on Thursday morning, the UPA government is daring the BJP to "vote out" the Bill on the floor of the Rajya Sabha.
Sonia's demand is akin to the one made by Rahul Gandhi who had asked Prime Minister to raise the cap of LPG cylinders from nine to 12 cylinders. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath wondered, "How overnight the BJP changed its stance both on the need of constitutional amendment and financial package after voting for it in the Lok Sabha."
Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha witnessed repeated adjournments due to protests by Seemandhra MPs and did not take up the Bill on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister also entered the scene; he met top BJP leaders in his chambers but failed to break the ice. Later, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh was asked to meet the BJP leaders and evolve a consensus on passing the Telangana Bill on Thursday. Jairam, too, failed to convince the BJP leaders, who drove a "hard bargain" and was told to get back to them before the BJP leaders' meeting on Thursday morning.
