Congress may crack whip against Kavuri

New Delhi: The UPA leadership is likely to crack the whip against rebellious Seemandhra Union Ministers even as it prepares to initiate a discussion on the Telangana bill in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

After expelling the Seemandhra MPs who had given notice for no-confidence against the government and disrupted the proceedings in Parliament, the Congress leadership has now turned its attention on the Union Ministers from Seemandhra who revolted against the party decision.

It is likely to take a political call on Monday about the nature of disciplinary action against the Ministers. This has become necessary after the expelled Seemandhra MPs made it known that the Ministers would take up their 'fight' in the Parliament to oppose the AP Reorganisation Bill, 2013, tooth and nail. There are seven ministers from Seemandhra region including three cabinet ministers.

Highly placed sources said that the government had tentatively scheduled the debate on the Telengana Bill on Tuesday. Finance Minister P Chidambaram would present the Vote-on-Account on Monday.

Lok Sabha is not likely to take up any other business that day.Meanwhile, the government is bracing up for a challenging Tuesday when the House is expected to discuss the T-Bill.

The government appears to be determined to foil any attempt by the Seemandhra Ministers to scuttle the debate on the crucial bill. Barring Harsha Kumar, the rebel Congress MPs have already been suspended by the Speaker.

Under the circumstances, the Seemandhra Ministers are coming under intense pressure to prevent the discussion by hook or crook. The Ministers have been indicating that they would resign before Parliament passes the Bill though none of them had put in their papers as yet.

Meanwhile, as the fate of the Telangana bill depends largely on the response of Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling party is keeping its cards close to its chest.

YSR Congress Party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy is likely to meet BJP's PM candidate Narendra Modi and request his party not to support the bifurcation of the State.

Interestingly, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley has left a window of negotiations open by saying that there is still scope for reconciliation.

This is different from the earlier stand of his Lok Sabha counterpart Sushma Swaraj who had declared that they would not talk to the government anymore as the Congress had miserably bungled the issue and failed to put its own house in order.