Union Minister of State for Commerce Daggubati Purandeswari on Saturday indicated that Congress ministers and Members of Parliament from Seemandhra would vote against the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill-2013 in Parliament if the Centre did not concede to their demands over protecting the interests of people of their region.
The Group of Ministers, set up to look into the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, has completed the process of discussions with various stake holders and will submit its report to the Union cabinet as early as possible to pave way for tabling Telangana Bill in the winter session of Parliament.
Parallel to this, the ruling Telugu Desam has been organising rallies across the state in solidarity with its MPs.
The Group of Minister, set up to look into the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, is all set to recommend special status to both the states under Article 371-D of the Constitution and examining a proposal to include two districts of Rayalseema in Telangana.
Telangana is facing a day-long bandh on Saturday called in protest against the passage in Lok Sabha of a Bill to transfer some villages of the newly-created state to Andhra Pradesh to aid the construction of the Polavaram project.
'We have got our permutations and combinations in place.' 'We are also trying to garner support from some NDA allies.' 'Every section of society has suffered during the four years of Modi rule.'
The Andhra Pradesh Intelligence Bureau has warned of possible trouble in case the passage of the Bill is delayed on Thursday. The current session of Parliament ends on Friday.
As the extended Winter Session of Parliament entered its third and last week on Monday, the Telangana issue continued to disrupt Rajya Sabha leading to its adjournment for the day.
The introduction of the Telangana Bill itself has run into a controversy with several parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, telling Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar that they do not accept that the legislation has been introduced.
Terming the rejection of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation-2013 Bill by the state legislature as the Brahmastra (a mythological weapon of great power), Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has expressed confidence that President Pranab Mukherjee would take into consideration that matter before sending the bill to the Parliament.
Several ministers in his government joined Naidu in the fast, which was held in all 13 districts of the state.
The ordinance over the Polavaram irrigation project triggered the first protest in the 16th Lok Sabha with Telangana Rashtra Samiti members storming the Well against the measure.
The government on Monday reached out to BJP to seek its support in passage of the contentious Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill with Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde wanting the opposition party to spell out its concerns on the issue.
During the 16th Lok Sabha, 180 bills were passed and 45 ordinances promulgated.
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister also wrote fresh letters to the Lok Sabha members of other opposition parties seeking their support for the no-trust vote.
The Congress's strategy is to get the bill passed in the Rajya Sabha and then try its luck in the Lok Sabha, where it is unsure of the Bharatiya Janata party's support for it. This, say sources, is the GoM's face-saver plan, as the Rajya Sabha's okay will keep the Bill alive for the 16th Lok Sabha.
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday expressed hope the Andhra Pradesh legislative Assembly will send its decision on draft Telangana bill before the timeframe set by the President for the process to be carried forward by the Centre subsequently.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday slammed Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao for dubbing as "fascist" the Centre's directives on special powers related to law and order in Hyderabad vested in Governor, and demanded immediate withdrawal of his comments.
Normal life was crippled in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions today as united Andhra Pradesh supporters, including TDP, YSR Congress, observed a bandh against the Union Cabinet's approval of the draft Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation bill.
Already embroiled in Sushma Swaraja and Vasundhara Raje controversies, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government does not want to get caught in a petty fight between two regional parties.
Since Parliament is still in session, the government refrained from making an official statement but the ministers said there were ample 'precedents by the Congress governments in the past' of Bills being pushed through the ordinance route.
The suspense over the controversial bill continues as the BJP insists that it was not introduced as Lok Sabha witnessed its stormiest proceedings ever.
The Telangana government on Saturday appeared on a collision course with the Centre after it refused to "honour or implement" the latter's directives with regard to special responsibility vested in the governor for maintenance of law and order in greater Hyderabad.
While Rahul loyalists were keen that he be given the post, a leader known to be close to him said, "If he does not become the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, then he should quit politics."
The Centre has constituted a five-member expert committee to study various alternatives available to it to decide on a new capital for Andhra Pradesh.
The Group of Ministers on Telangana will meet in the first week of February to decide on the Centre's next course of action after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy sought extension of the deadline for discussing and returning the statehood Bill.
As the Rajya Sabha passed the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill 2014 on Thursday, giving birth to India's 29th state, Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt takes final stock of how it was accomplished.
Seeking to put a lid on speculation, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Thursday said the bill for creation of the new state of Telangana, bifurcating Andhra Pradesh, will be tabled in the winter session of Parliament starting on December five.
Rajya Sabha will sit for late hours in last week of the first half of the budget session from Monday to clear the pending legislative and other businesses.
Meanwhile, the AP CM said that the TDP is ready to bring no-trust motion against Centre as last resort.
Chances of holding early assembly polls in Telangana and Seema-Andhra, along with the Lok Sabha elections, seem unlikely, says Renu Mittal
Lagadapati Rajagopal, now being referred to as the 'pepper spray member of Parliament', is holding talks with Andhra Pradesh's caretaker Chief Minister Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy about floating a new political party.
In view of the Andhra CM's resignation from the post and the Congress, party president Sonia Gandhi has requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to grant special category status to the Seema-Andhra for five years. Renu Mittal reports
The TDP supremo said he had not contacted any party yet but given the 'TDP's credibility' they were supporting the no-trust motion.
Noisy protests disrupted the both houses of the Parliament on the first day of the second part of the budget session
Leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley speaks on the debate on the Andhra Pradesh (Reorganisation) Bill, 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi set a historic moment for Andhra Pradesh, as he laid the foundation stone of capital Amaravati at the Uddandarayuni Palem on Thursday. More than 10,000 police personnels were deployed for the even in the city.
Sheela Bhatt lists ten quick takeaways from the passage of the Telangana bill in the Lok Sabha.
The extended Winter session of Parliament got off a stormy start on Wednesday with uproar over the Telangana and caste-reservation issue stalling proceedings.
The Bharatiya Janata Party might have a majority in the Lok Sabha but sarcasm and public humiliation of rivals may not be the way to assert this. In fact, it is a waste of time
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