T Bill finds no place in winter session agenda

NEW DELHI: After all the hype and hoopla, the Telangana bill may not come up before the Parliament during winter session, scheduled to be held from December 5 to 20.

The process of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh is unable to keep pace with the original schedule, resulting in confusion. The indications of the bill not being able to make it to the winter session were available at the all-party meeting convened by Parliamentary Affairs Ministry here on Monday.

When Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj confronted Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath as to why the Telangana bill was not listed in the agenda, he remained evasive and merely said that the government was 'doing its best' to bring the bill during the coming winter session.

'If it does not come in the winter session, the government will consider holding special session to pass the Telangana Bill,' he said.

Telangana bill ready, but unlikely to come up in winter session
This 'one step forward, two steps backward' policy of the Centre on Telangana issue has raised questions about its intention and commitment in ensuring that the crucial gets the Parliament approval before the completion of the winter session.

As things stand, a special session of the Parliament might become necessary for introduction of the much-awaited bill. There is a possibility that the 'opinion' of the State Assembly on the draft bill may not reach the Centre by December 20 when the winter session concludes.

This might force the Centre to convene a special session to introduce the bill. A sense of anxiety is palpable in the government circles over the way the division process is panning out.

Clearly, it is behind the schedule. The Congress top leadership seems to be wary of what might happen in the Assembly when the bill comes up for consideration.

It is being pointed in official circles that going by the past experience of the bifurcation of Bihar, UP and MP, the respective assemblies were given six weeks' time to give their approval. While the approval of the State Assembly may not be binding on the Centre, it may lead to valuable loss of time, it is felt.

The Group of Ministers, constituted to speed up the bifurcation process, is set to finalize its report by Tuesday for forwarding it to the Union Cabinet for clearance.

However, there is suspense over whether the much-awaited cabinet meet meant to take a call on the GoM report and the draft bill would meet on December 4 as announced earlier. Sources in the GoM gave conflicting signals saying the cabinet meet may not possible as Delhi will go to vote on the same day.

While Delhi polls may serve as the official reason, it is also being speculated that the Congress leadership may want a bit more time to mull over the new turn of events. The cabinet is likely to meet on December 5.

No end to Telangana saga

The GoM is all set to recommend the creation of Rayala Telangana State comprising 12 districts including Kurnool and Anantapur from the Rayalaseema region.

The minsters' panel which has gone through a mammoth exercise of meeting representatives, inviting suggestions and back to back meetings over the last two weeks is finally ready to submit its much-awaited report to the Prime Minister on Tuesday.

AICC General Secretary in-charge of AP Affairs Digvijay Singh did not rule out the possibility of the Centre studying the proposal of Rayala-Telangana State in the event of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

This is in stark contrast to claims of Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde that the new State would comprise 10 districts of Telengana only.

The new turn of events is a result of the Congress leadership and the GoM's decision to consider the demand for Rayala Telangana mooted by Congress MP Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy.

However, the capital is abuzz with speculation that it was the Congress leadership which may have wanted to support the proposal and Reddy could just be voicing the strategy of the higher-ups.

The move to go for Rayala Telangana is being seen as a shrewd political step aimed at damaging the prospects of Jagan Mohan Reddy's possible sweep in Rayalseema and the TRS in the Telangana region.

The strength of the Telengana region in the Andhra Pradesh assembly may then go up to 147 from the present 119 thus facilitating smooth passage of the crucial Telangana bill.

On the vexed issue of Hyderabad, the GoM sources have indicated that the mega city would serve as the common capital for 10 years with law and order vested with the Governor or indirectly the Centre.

This is in pattern with the administrative framework of the national capital Delhi where local administration with the Government of Delhi but Delhi Police reports to the Union Home Minister.

Once the draft Bill on Telangana gets political clearance with the nod from the Union Cabinet, it would be sent to the President Pranab Mukherjee who will in turn send it to the State Assembly seeking its opinion.

However political circles are debating whether the draft Bill to be prepared by the Ministry of Home Affairs would be for a Telangana State or Rayala-Telangana State.

Interestingly, hard core Telangana protagonists continued to oppose the Rayala Telangana decision. Union minister S Jaipal Reddy told media in the evening that the Rayala Telangana proposal was not feasible and he was dead against the same.

He said that Rayala Telangana would seriously hurt the sentiments of the Telengana people who want the CWC resolution to be implemented by creating Telengana state with ten districts.

The Telengana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) chief Prof Kodandaram met S. Jaipal Reddy and vehemently opposed the move claiming that no one in Telangana was in support of the sudden development on Rayala Telangana.