Government to table Telangana Bill in Parliament session starting Feb 5

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet is set to approve the bill for formation of Telangana that will be introduced in the voteon-account session of Parliament beginning February 5.

The Centre does not expect the President to give anymore time to the Andhra Pradesh assembly to debate the bill beyond January 30, the extended deadline. The Speaker of the assembly would send across the record of the discussions with affidavits submitted by some members, including Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, to the Centre by the end of this week.

“A GoM meeting may be called on February 4 to discuss the bill and consider a few amendments. The Cabinet is then expected to approve the bill on February 6 for introduction in Parliament. The consent of the state assembly is not mandatory under the Constitution and the Centre can go ahead with the legislation in Parliament,” a senior Home Ministry official told ET.




The vote-on-account session will be from February 5 to February 21, during which Congress wants to pas the bill. “Extensions being asked by the Andhra government are intended to derail the passage of the bill in the final session of the current Lok Sabha. The assembly has taken three breaks since December 12, when they received the bill for debate. This shows discussion on the bill is hardly a priority. The President gave the assembly ample time of seven weeks,” a minister who was part of the group of ministers who drafted the bill told ET.

Andhra MLAs, including Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, have apparently seen the writing on the wall. Reddy, members of his council of ministers and MLAs from Seemandhra region on Wednesday submitted affidavits to Speaker Nadendla Manohar and requested him to forward them to the President.

Reddy and the MLAs have given their views in these affidavits, opposing the bifurcation of the state. Only 86 MLAs out of the 280 have been able to speak on the matter in the assembly, prompting the Speaker to appeal to MLAs on Wednesday to submit their opinions in writing as the assembly had only two days left to discuss the matter.

Speaking to reporters in Hyderabad, Reddy said he will quit politics if the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2013, is accepted by Parliament in the same form it was referred to the assembly. “I challenge them to put the same bill, which they referred to us, in Parliament.

If it is accepted, I will stay away from politics…the Centre deceived the President by sending an incomprehensive bill to him,” Reddy alleged. The Chief Minister has asked the President to give the assembly three more weeks to discuss the bill.