Thursday, February 13, 2014

Telangana live: Bill not on agenda, but introduction likely

10.49 am: MHA officials say that bill will be introduced

In the midst of all this back and forth, a number of MHA officials have only added to the confusion.  They have arrived at Parliament and have told CNN-IBN that they have been called to Parliament because the bill will be introduced in Parliament.

So will it be introduced or not? At this point, we can only wait and see.

10.36 am: Not yet decided on days agenda, says Kamal Nath

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath has said that the days agenda has not yet been decided, adding that there were still concerns over tabling the Telangana bill. The bill has not been listed in the days agenda, and the speaker may have to take a final decision on whether to introduce it or not.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Nath said that while a majority of Congress MPs wanted the bill introduced, there were others who still had concerns. Most of these concerns appear to be centred around safety, with very real concerns that some MPs would immolate themselves inside the Parliament premises to protest the division of the state.

A decision in this regard will have to be taken before 11am when Parliament convenes for the day.

Meanwhile reports from Seemandhra say that the entire area is in a state of total shutdown.

The TDP, YSRCP activists and other united Andhra supporters held rallies at several places in the two regions against the state's division. Schools, colleges and other educational institutions remained shut at many places with pro-united Andhra employees also taking part in the agitation.

10.09 am: Waiting for political nod to introduce bill, says MHA

MHA sources have told CNN-IBN that the ministry is prepared to introduce the Telangana bill in Parliament today, but are still waiting for political approval.

They are reportedly also waiting for speakers consent to introduce the bill.

Meanwhile in Andhra Pradesh, the assembly has been adjourned for an hour despite it being the last day of the vote on account session. All eyes are on CM Kiran reddy and his resignation threat.

The Chief Minister has not arrived yet.

9.40 am: Will Cong bite the bullet and table bill today?

Will they? Won't they? That seems to be the biggest question surrounding the controversial Telangana bill that has seen Parliament continuously disrupted over the last two sessions.

The bill is all ready to go, but the Congress has so far refrained from tabling it in the Lok Sabha.

Reuters

Reuters

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to hold talks with senior ministers at around 10.30 am Thursday to take a final call on whether to table the Bill or not.

The bill is likely to be pushed through by the Centre despite the fact that it has been advised that a constitutional amendment was needed after the law ministry said the bill could be moved in its current form, reported the Hindu.

If Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde rises to present the bill in the Lok Sabha he could be surrounded by party MPs to prevent opposing MPs from targeting him. The MPs from Seemandhra region who are opposed to the legislation have already finalised their strategy to disrupt the bill from being pushed through.

The BJP, while supporting the bill and the creation of the state, has said that the Congress needs to take note of the projects. Ministers and MPs from the region, including the six legislators expelled by the Congress, held a meeting on Wednesday night and almost all of them are likely to protest against the introduction of the Bill in the well of the House.

One of the expelled MPs is also expected to move a notice for no-confidence against the UPA government. An MP claimed that they have already mobilised the support of 37 MPs in the last two days. According to a report in the Times of India, a serious worry of the Congress government is that some of the protesting MPs could go through with their threats of attempting suicide either in the well of the House or on Parliament premises.

The report points out that since MPs cannot be patted down it has been made sure that CCTVs, metal detectors, and full body scanners are all functional. Fire extinguishers have been kept across the premises, there are additional fire engines and security outside the Parliament building has also been ramped up to prevent MPs from doing anything in Parliament premises.

 


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