22.2.14

BJP backs Telangana Bill in Lok Sabha


A determined Congress managed to secure the Lok Sabha’s nod for the creation of Telangana amid din raised by a group of protesting MPs and an unprecedented TV blackout of the proceedings.
Interestingly, the passage of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Bill was facilitated by the BJP which overcame resistance from an influential section within to stick to its pro-Telangana stand.
Parliamentary approval for the legislation will clear the way for the division of Andhra Pradesh and the creation of Telangana as the 29th state of the Union.
The significant moment was, however, marred by a mysterious TV blackout of the debate, which was slammed by almost all parties as “undemocratic”.
Even as criticism of the abrupt suspension of live telecast of the 90-minute-long debate poured in from all quarters, why Lok Sabha TV, which has monopoly rights over the telecast of proceedings, went blank remained wrapped in mystery. The Lok Sabha secretariat later blamed the blackout on a “technical glitch”. However, the belated defence was dismissed, with leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj insisting that the disruption of live coverage was a “tactical glitch”.
Although the demand for Telangana is six decades old, the campaign has verged on fruition now only because of the Congress’s determination to sweep 17 Lok Sabha seats in the Telangana region. The party wavered endlessly over the issue before the fear of rout in Andhra Pradesh after the death of former CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy impelled party strategists to tilt decisively towards conferring statehood on Telangana.
The Congress has already opened talks with K Chandrasekhar Rao of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi in the hope that the alliance will sweep the region, helping it salvage a chunk out of its fallen fortress of AP.
BJP’s support to the Bill was crucial and snuffed out the hopes of Telangana opponents -- from TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu and YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy to Congress’s own rebel Seemandhra contingent. Apart from its consistent advocacy for Telangana, the BJP supported the Bill because it, increasingly confident of its prospects in the coming elections, did not want to inherit the “mess” created by Congress.
“We did not want this festering issue to spoil the honeymoon for a government that we may possibly form,” said a senior leader when asked why the party chose to support the Bill even after Congress spurned their three demands.
The BJP had demanded explicit commitment in the legislation to compensate Seemandhra for the loss of revenue-rich Hyderabad, for treating the legislation as a constitutional amendment bill and for revoking the suspension of Seemandhra MPs to promote reconciliation between the two warring regions of AP.
BJP’s support meant that numbers were not a problem even if the handful of Seemandhra MPs were to continue their protests despite the suspension of a bulk of anti-T bloc after the violence in the lower House last week.
Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde announced that the government would give a special financial package for Seemandhra region -- an attempt to placate the BJP.
The Bill was taken up for voting after Swaraj made a brief speech in which she slammed the Congress for dragging the issue for 10 years and Congress minister Jaipal Reddy credited Sonia Gandhi for fulfilling the dreams of the Telangana region.
The voice vote on the amendments moved by the government and Trinamool Congress and MIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi were taken up amid loud sloganeering led by MPs of CPM. Though the Congress ministers and members from Seemandhra were in the Well for the duration of the debate, it was more of posturing than a full throated bid to stall the legislation. 

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