Nadendla Manohar holds House key to Telangana

Hyderabad: State Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar has issued the notification summoning the state Assembly to sit from December 12. If the Telangana Bill comes to the Assembly in this session, the role of the Speaker will be crucial.

According to the Union minister, Jairam Ramesh, the Telangana Bill will be put before President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday. However, sources said it will take some more days to send the Bill to the Governor.

If the Bill reaches the Assembly before the Winter Session begins, the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the state Assembly, that meets on December 11, will decide when the Bill should be taken up for discussion.

According to sources, the Assembly Speaker wants to let the BAC decide how many days are needed for discussion of the Bill and how many members from each party should speak on the Bill and how much time should be given to each member.

Seemandhra MLAs want everyone who opposes the Telangana Bill to speak. Members from the Telangana region will also want to speak. If all the 278 (present strength of the house) speak, it may take four or five days for the speeches to be over.

Seemandhra MLAs are planning to move many amendments to the bill. Some are thinking of moving an amendment to make Hyderabad city a Union Territory. Some want to move a resolution to keep AP united.

Here the question is, if a member moves for an amendment or a resolution, or if any member wants a vote on the Telangana Bill, what will the Speaker do? Will he allow the member to move the amendment or not?

According to sources in the AP Legislative Secretariat, members have a right to express their views freely on the Bill. Members can make suggestion and air their opinions in their speeches, but according to the rules, the Speaker is not bound to allow them to move amendments or pass resolutions.

If members demand that they be allowed to move amendments or a resolution, the Speaker may allow them to do so after completion of the discussion on the Bill. But it’s of no use to move amendments or resolution after the discussion.

Sources said that if in the BAC all parties agree to allow members to move amendments, then the Speaker will allow it. In the Winter Session of the Assembly there is no government business that needs to be decided upon and the House is only meeting in order to fulfil the Constitutional requirement that the House must meet.

If the T Bill does not reach the Speaker before the session starts, the House may be adjourned sine die in two or three days. The Assembly may meet again after the Bill reaches the Speaker. Again, it is the BAC that will decide for how many days the Assembly meets.

There are currently 279 members in the State Assembly, which has a full strength of 295. Fifteen seats are vacant. The partywise strength is: Congress 146, TDP 80, TRS and YSRCP each 17, MIM 7, CPI 4, BJP 3, CPM 1, Lok Satta 1 and Independents, 3. This is according to the assembly records. But some members from the Congress and TDP have joined the TRS and YSRC.