Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi on Thursday night resigned from his post in protest against the Union Cabinet's approval of the formation of separate Telangana, his aide said.
The controversial Communal Violence Bill and the bill for creation of Telangana will be tabled in the next session of Parliament, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Thursday.
Assembly elections in Telangana and residuary Andhra Pradesh may not be held along with the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Campaigning ended on Wednesday evening for 102 Lok Sabha seats across 21 states and Union territories which will go to polls in the first phase on April 19 with top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) making a last-gasp effort to woo voters.
KCR, as Rao is popularly known, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor E S L Narasimhan at a simple ceremony on the lawns of Raj Bhavan.
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.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Tuesday left for Delhi, where he is expected to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and possibly discuss an expansion of his cabinet and Telangana, among other issues. There has been speculation that the chief minister would induct only two legislators of erstwhile Praja Rajyam Party into his cabinet. It is speculated that the cabinet re-jig may take place anytime between January 21 and 28.
The Narendra Modi government's 'surprising' move to take the ordinance route on the Polavaram project due to which seven mandals and 270 hamlets of Telangana will be merged into Seemandhra has irked the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which is observing a bandh today in protest. Vicky Nanjappa in an exclusive conversation with TRS leader K T Rama Rao.
The women's Reservation Bill is likely to be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday during the ongoing special session of the Parliament and in Rajya Sabha on September 21, government sources said.
Senior leader Oscar Fernandes, who is currently minister without portfolio, could be brought full time to the organisation amid reports that the known loyalist of the party chief could get a key assignment.
The first day of the monsoon session of Parliament was marred by uproarious scenes over the decision to form Telangana even as the government said substantive and procedural issues related to the new state would be dealt with in a Cabinet note being prepared.
Minister of State for Railways, Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy, on Friday resigned from his post in protest against the Union Cabinet's decision to go ahead with the proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
Jarange, whose hunger strike at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district for reservation for the community in government jobs and education entered 12th day, also rejected the fresh outcome of talks held with a delegation of Maratha community leaders and the government late on Friday night in Mumbai.
Lok Sabha secretariat has sought an opinion from the Union law ministry whether the constitution needs to be amended to form a new state. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Andhra Pradesh Infrastructure and Investment Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy resigned from the cabinet as well as the state assembly on Saturday evening. Komatireddy, who had set September 30 as the deadline for the Centre to come out with a statement on the creation of Telangana state, met Governor E S L Narasimhan and submitted his resignation from the Kiran Kumar Reddy-led state government.
Telangana will have to wait a while before it finds a representation in the Narendra Modi cabinet.
The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill 2014, which got Parliament's approval on February 20 despite strong opposition from Seemandhra leaders, got the Presidential assent, paving the way for creation of the country's 29th state by splitting Andhra Pradesh.
The government on Thursday said it will go ahead with its decision to create Telangana despite protests in the Seemandhra region, but remained non-committal on imposition of the President's rule in Andhra Pradesh.
Eight Union ministers, two former chief ministers and one ex-governor are among those who are set to test their electoral fate in the first phase of elections on April 19 when 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories will go to polls.
The issue of constituting a mechanism for the wide ranging consultations promised by the Centre on Telangana is expected to come up on Friday at a meeting of the Congress core group headed by party president Sonia Gandhi.
Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill to regulate the appointment and service terms of Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners incorporating key amendments like retaining their status at par with Supreme Court judges, upgrading the search committee and inserting a new clause to protect them from court cases while discharging their official duties.
The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday asserted that there would be no going back on the issue of tabling a resolution in the state assembly seeking the formation of a separate Telangana state. Briefing newsmen after an emergency meeting of the state cabinet late on Thursday night, chaired by Chief Minister M K Rosaiah, Information Minister J Geeta Reddy said they would abide by the decision of the Congress high command on the Telangana resolution.
The K Rosaiah government in Andhra Pradesh finds itself under immense pressure from not only Opposition parties but also a section of Congress leaders to find out an early solution to the Telangana crisis.
Creation of the new Telangana state will take close to six months that involve a number of steps, including adoption of state Re-organisation bill by Parliament by a simple majority.
Andhra Pradesh Endowment Minister J Krishna Rao has resigned from the state cabinet in protest against the delay in the formation of Telagnana state.
Cracking the whip, the Congress on Tuesday expelled six Lok Sabha Members of Parliament from Andhra Pradesh who had opposed the creation of Telangana and had given a notice of no-confidence motion against the government.
With the Congress top brass in New Delhi likely to take a final call on Friday on the vexed Telangana issue, the development has sparked a flurry of activities in the Andhra Pradesh capital.
The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet sub-committee on employees has decided to invite the Telangana Employees Joint Action Committee for talks on August 5 to resolve their pending grievances and avert a strike.
The bill to create Telangana is likely to be introduced in Parliament on Tuesday.
It is likely to take at least six months for the proposed new state of Telangana to see the light of the day as the move involves a number of steps, including adoption of state re-organisation bill by Parliament by a simple majority.
Four Cabinet ministers and 8 ministers of state are to be dropped and the same number of ministers likely to be inducted in Prime Minister Narendra D Modi's council of ministers.
Political crisis in Andhra Pradesh over the proposed Telangana statehood further deepened on Saturday with 20 ministers resigning for the cabinet.
YSR Congress President Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday called on Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan to demand an emergency session of state assembly to pass a resolution against the proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
Given the politics behind it all, one possibility is for binding the governor to act according to the decisions of the state government and clarifying his position vis a vis bills and resolutions passed by the state assembly -- or, re-enacted if returned, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Pushed to the corner by the deteriorating health condition of Telangana Rashtriya Samiti chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, the Congress on Wednesday night agreed to pass a resolution in the Andhra Pradesh assembly for the creation of a separate Telangana state, in a bid to defuse the current volatile situation. Addressing a press conference late on Wednesday night, Home Minister P Chidambaram said, "The process of creating a separate Telangana state will be initiated."
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.
'He is exposing the failings of the BJP, which is rankling the party.'
On the eve of an all-party meeting on Telangana, Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrashekhar Rao on Monday said the Centre should follow its announcement on creation of a separate state with a resolution in Parliament but set no deadline for it.
The Group of Ministers on Telangana is likely to take up six official amendments to the Telangana Bill on Monday. The GoM will have daily meeting for three days from February 3 in New Delhi.
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