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Centre skirts KVP bill
With the Lok Sabha adjourned sine die and the Rajya Sabha set to follow the course on Thursday, there is little chance of the private member\'s bill of Congress MP K V P Ramachandra Rao, seeking amendments to the AP Reorganisation Act 2014 to accord Special Category Status to the residual State of Andhra Pradesh, to be taken up in this session.
New Delhi: With the Lok Sabha adjourned sine die and the Rajya Sabha set to follow the course on Thursday, there is little chance of the private member's bill of Congress MP K V P Ramachandra Rao, seeking amendments to the AP Reorganisation Act 2014 to accord Special Category Status to the residual State of Andhra Pradesh, to be taken up in this session.
Political observers opine that if the Congress was serious about the private member's bill it would have ensured that its own members were present during the discussion when its MP K V P Ramachandra Rao moved the bill. Lack of quorum had resulted in the bill being postponed to Thursday
The discussion on the bill was to be taken up and put to vote on Friday as Rao was insisting on a debate and pressing for a division on the same in the House. Rao had also written letters to all the political parties, including TDP, BJP and YSRCP. The YSRCP announced that it would extend support to the bill.
The decision to adjourn Rajya Sabha sine die on Thursday has raised doubts over the sincerity of the Congress. Political observers opine that if the Congress was really serious about the bill it would have ensured that its own members were present during the discussion when Dr Rao moved the bill. Lack of quorum had resulted in the bill being postponed to Thursday.
Sources in the party stated that Sonia Gandhi had issued a 3-line whip to the RS members of the party to be present in the House and vote in favour of the bill as and when it was to be taken up. But if the same whip was issued when Rao moved the bill, its fate would have been known by now and would have exposed the intentions of all political parties, observers said.
But all this seems to be a public posturing in the wake of the willingness of the party to cooperate with the government in getting the House adjourned. Indications of an early end to the session began emanating since the beginning the week itself.
The government was disinterested in pressing for its business as it wanted to engage in the last leg of campaigning for assembly elections in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. So on Wednesday when the sources disclosed that "it's a consensus decision" it was obvious that the Congress too was on board.
The party did not want the Augusta Westland business to eat into its credibility further and the government sought to push its much sought after Finance Bill with the help of the Congress.
Lost in the scheme was the interest of Andhra Pradesh as neither the BJP nor the TDP wanted a debate on the same, however briefly it might be taken up.
What was worrying the TDP was the stance that they should adopt. If they support the same, then it would leave the Congress triumphant in AP and that could have led to a check to the negativity it was facing in the State.
BY:W Chandrakanth
