Bill, resolution in Telangana soup

DC | Ch V.M. Krishna Rao | 2 hours 1 min ago

Friday, Oct 11, 2013 

 

Hyderabad: There is still confusion even among the top leadership of the Congress about whether the  Centre will direct the AP Assembly to pass a resolution in favour of Telangana, or will only require the Assembly to express its opinion on the Telangana Bill, or both.

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy had informed the striking employees’ associations on Wednesday that AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh had assured him that the Telangana issue will be referred to the AP Assembly twice (for its opinion and for voting). Singh himself issued a statement in Delhi on these lines.
 

But Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde, during his monthly briefing to the media on Thursday, said that after the Group of Ministers (GoM) clears the Bill, it will be referred to the President who in turn will send it to the AP Assembly only for its opinion. Asked what the Centre will do if the AP Assembly rejects the Bill, Shinde said, “There is a remedy provided in the Constitution. Please read it or wait for the outcome.”
 

Seemandhra leaders tend to rely on Singh’s statement that the resolution will come before the Assembly, where it could be easily voted down, forcing the Central government to reverse its decision to carve out Telangana state.
 

Telangana Congress leaders prefer to believe the Union home minister’s statement that the Bill will come before the Assembly only for the latter to express its opinion. They say that even if the AP Assembly rejects the Bill, Parliament is vested with the power to bifurcate the state.
 

Sources close to the CM are still hopeful that the Cabinet note that was approved on October 3 will be sent to the President with the advice that it should be referred to the AP Assembly.
 

Shinde, during his briefing, said that the GoM, which is slated to hold its first meeting on Friday, will listen to various stakeholders and submit its report to the Cabinet. The Bill will then be placed in Parliament after getting the opinion of the state Assembly.
 

Conflicting statements will upset dialogue process: CM
 

Conflicting statements will upset dialogue process with striking staff: CM
 

The conflicting statements by Congress leadership at the Centre and Union ministers on the highly sensitive issue of state division is adding to the existing chaos.

Within a day of AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh's assurance to Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy that the Assembly will deal with the T issue twice, in the form of a resolution and Bill, Union home minister Mr Sushilkumar Shinde said the Bill would be sent to Assembly only once for its views.

The Chief Minister who has been trying to convince employees that the division process could be scuttled by ensuring defeat of T resolution in the Assembly, he believes the statement is likely to upset the dialogue process with the striking employees.

The visibly irritated Chief Minister said in a television interview that it is high time that the Central leaders and ministers coordinate with each other before making statements on highly sensitive issues.

“We have lost complete faith in what they are saying. We also fear that they want to keep us in confusion with their statements and push the Bill in the winter session of Parliament,“ APNGOs leader A. Vidyasagar told this newspaper.

It all began with Mr Shinde announcing in December 2012 that a decision on carving out state will be taken within a week. Then came the infamous statement of former AICC incharge Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad that one week cannot be taken in literal sense.

Digvijay Singh, while announcing the CWC resolution, made it clear that the entire process of carving out the Telangana state would begin with the state Assembly sending a resolution to the Centre to decide on the contentious issue.

“Now we understand that it was a ploy to preempt resignations by MLAs and ministers who have been hiding under the excuse of defeating resolution in the Assembly whenever agitators counter them with the resignation demand,“ said Mr Vidyasagar.

There have been conflicting statements on the duration of the division process.

While the ministry of home affairs' note on the T-state gave six weeks time for the Group of Ministers (GoM) to submit its report, Mr Shinde said that the Bill would be introduced in the Winter Session of Parliament. Within days the Centre removed the six-week deadline and Mr Shinde on Thursday said there has been no deadline for the GoM to complete its process.

Source: Deccan Chronicle