Lok Sabha failed to take up burning issues: YSRCP

New Delhi, Dec 18 (INN): Taking strong objection for adjourning the Lok Sabha sine die without taking up burning issues, YSR Congress has said the UPA Government has waded through the winter session skirting discussions on people's problems and had only completed the formality with lack of seriousness.

'We have given an adjournment motion on the undemocratic division of the Andhra Pradesh and a no confidence motion against the UPA government. While the Speaker rejected the former we have asked her to take up the second motion after the Lok Pal Bill but the house was adjourned sine die after the Bill was passed,' YSR Congress leaders Dr MV Mysoora Reddy, SPY Reddy and Mekapati Rajmohan Reddy told reporters here on Wednesday.

Our adjournment motion that the article 3 is misused and the state is being divided without an assembly resolution nor setting up of a committee for the division was disallowed and the no-confidence motion we have moved was pending as we agreed with the Chair that the Lok Pal Bill be taken up first.

'We have supported the Lok Pal Bill in toto and have given a letter to the Speaker to take up the no-confidence motion after the Bill is passed but the House was abruptly adjourned sine die giving no scope to the voice of the people,' they said.

The winter session has come to a quick end without transacting any major business and discussing issues of public importance. The government has single-mindedly pushed through its agenda of passing the financial bills and completed the formality.

The Lok Pal Bill was also taken up at the fag-end of the session due to the developments in Delhi where Congress has taken a severe drubbing in the assembly elections.

Our leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has toured the entire country and met leaders of national and regional parties to mobilize public opinion and stressed the need for amending article 3 which is being misused by the Centre in dividing the State for the sake of votes and seats.

There is no proper basis for the division of the State but has only political motives. We have drawn the attention of the nation towards this but wanted to debate it on the floor of the Parliament but we were deprived of that chance.

The State was formed based on the recommendations of the first SRC on linguistic grounds and for this division there is no basis is our contention.

As the Congress has been pursuing with its agenda of dividing the State unilaterally, and there are members within Congress who wanted the State to be united, we have given notice for a no-confidence and it was not considered either, they said.

The 10-day winter session ended up without any meaningful discussion and not a single issue was taken up and the Government seems to be very indifferent towards the issue of Andhra Pradesh as it is not prepared to hear the version of the majority of the local populace, they said.

Misuse of Article 3 has been the main issue we have been vociferously contending. The article was necessary after the country gained independence as there were nearly 563 princely states which were not part of the Indian Union.

To bring them into the Indian Union, the article was necessary and it served the purpose of keeping the nation united and safeguarding the integrity of the nation.

'But here Article 3 is being used from the wrong side and it is used to divide a state which was united on linguistic grounds as recommended by the first SRC. While the article in early days was used to unite the country it is now used to divide the states and we condemn this.

The Centre throwing the blame on us that YSRCP has said you have the right to divide the state as per article 3 is only half-baked version. It was selectively and partly quoted. We were misquoted and it was read out of context,' they said. The fight will continue for a united State, they asserted.

When asked about the reported talk between Digvijay Singh and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, they said, the Delhi leader tied to open the conversation but our leader just greeted him and parted ways.