Telangana debate on, Bhatti spikes Kiran plans

Hyderabad: The controversy regarding discussion on the Telangana Bill in the Assembly is deepening with each passing day.

Contradicting Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy’s statement, Deputy Speaker Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said on Friday that the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2013 was introduced and discussion had also started.

Speaking to the media, the Deputy Speaker said that the legislative affairs minister D. Sridhar Babu had initiated the discussion.

In a separate press conference, Sridhar also said that “tabled” meant “introduced” and that the debate on the Telangana Bill in the Assembly had started.

Both were quoting the Assembly bulletin tabled in the House on Thursday. They said that the bulletin was in the name of leader of the House Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and it was stated in the bulletin that “discussion on T Bill will continue”.

‘Discussion on T Bill has begun’

The Deputy Speaker Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said that according to the decision taken in the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) on December 11, Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar had tabled the AP Reorganisation Bill in the House and discussion had started. He said the dates for discussion on the Telangana Bill were finalised in the BAC on December 17 and the meeting was attended by all party leaders including the Chief Minister.

He added that the decisions of the BAC were placed in the House in the name of the Chief Minister. When  Kiran Kumar Reddy’s reaction on the bulletin was brought to the notice of the Deputy Speaker, he said, “I am leaving that to his wisdom.”

“Why the dogmatism on the discussion? Presiding officers will provide whatever material the members want. Telangana Bill, which was tabled in the House, is a very important issue and all the MLAs should participate in the debate and air their opinions; it is not good to stall the House by any party, and this is bad tradition in democracy,” he said.

The Deputy Speaker said that the presiding officer in the chair would take the decisions according to the Constitution and the rules and would not do so due to anyone’s pressure. Every member should respect the chair, it was not good to make allegations and criticise the chair.

Meanwhile, Sridhar Babu said that the Centre was going according to Article 3 on the state’s bifurcation. He explained that the Telangana Bill had been tabled in the House and this implied that the Bill stood introduced. He added that the Speaker would decide on voting on each clause of the Telangana Bill.

The minister also warned that if any one challenged the authority of the Speaker or made allegations, he would not be spared from action and said that they would be served with Privilege Notices.