A special Union cabinet meeting today cleared the draft Telangana Bill paving the way for the government to place it in Parliament. There are expectations that the bill will be introduced in Parliament next week. The key points in the bill are that Hyderabad will be the joint capital for Seemandhra and Telangana. It will not be a Union Territory, as was being widely speculated.The governor has been put in charge of law and order of Hyderabad. “A special meeting of the Union cabinet is being held on Friday to consider the Telangana bill,” unnamed government sources were quoted as saying by PTI earlier in the day.
The decision for convening a cabinet meeting on Telangana was taken after a meeting of the Group of Ministers on the vexed issue. The GoM deliberated on various issues concerning bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. The ministerial panel is believed to have discussed the demands of the Union ministers from Seemandhra which include making Hyderabad a Union Territory for a limited period and incorporating Bhadrachalam sub-division with residuary Andhra Pradesh.
In a repeat of yesterday and the day before, as soon as Lok Sabha met today, members from Andhra Pradesh cutting across party lines began shouting slogans for and against creation of Telangana and entered the Well forcing a washout for the third consecutive day. In the Rajya Sabha, chairman Hamid Ansari said, “For several days now, we have been in a situation where we are being forced to witness deviations of decorum of House when members rush into the Well.
I wish to inform the members that this will now be reflected precisely in the proceedings of the House.” He said this after TDP members rushed into the Well carrying banners that read ‘Save Andhra Pradesh’ to oppose creation of Telangana.
The Telangana issue has become increasingly volatile politically with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy camping on a Delhi street to protest against the possible bifurcation of the state. Upset with the behaviour of its own chief minister, sources in the Congress have said that the party might ask Reddy to put in his papers. Recently, the Andhra Pradesh assembly failed to come to a conclusion over the creation of Telangana.
(Source: IANS)
