Protests in Rajya Sabha over Telangana bill
A desperate government prepared for night-long deliberations with the BJP to make sure that a bill to create Telangana is passed in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow, after failing to push it through today.
The bill was approved yesterday under controversial circumstances in the Lok Sabha, with live telecast cut off. The BJP wants a constitutional amendment in the bill, which would not only require two thirds majority to clear, but will also need to go back to the lower house for ratification.
Here are the 10 big developments in this story:
Sources say Congress President and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has requested the PM to give special category status to Seemandhra. This is being seen as an attempt to meet half way the BJP's demands for a special package. (Live Updates)
The BJP had helped pass the bill in the Lok Sabha yesterday. Now it wants a constitutional amendment to empower a common governor to be custodian of security for the 10 years that the two states will share a common capital in Hyderabad. It also wants included a compensation package for Seemandhra, the non-Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh which fears a smaller share of water, power and revenue once the new state is carved out.
The government must pass the bill in both Houses of Parliament by Friday. Disruptions have continued in both houses.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reached out to the BJP, meeting senior leaders Arun Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu to break the impasse.(Blog: What the nation did not see as the Telangana Bill was passed)
The BJP has asked the Rajya Sabha chairman to ensure proper discussion on the bill. It wants to ensure all parties get a chance to debate the bill, unlike the way it was passed in the Lok Sabha yesterday with many parties protesting. Union minister Rajeev Shukla on will bring introduce the bill in the Upper House tomorrow.
Kiran Kumar Reddy today resigned as Chief Minister and quit his Congress party. (Read more...) "Linking the bifurcation of the state to political gains is wrong," Mr Reddy told NDTV. "I tried my best to prevent Telangana. Sorry, I couldn't." (From hand-picked man to political rebel: Kiran Kumar Reddy's political journey)
Union minister P Chidambaram told NDTV that Mr Reddy should have been asked to resign "much sooner." (Watch)
Protests against Telangana took an ugly turn in the Rajya Sabha, as a TDP MP, C Ramesh, tried to snatch papers from the Secretary General, and ended up hitting him on the chin. The MP apologised to the house later. There were repeated disruptions in both houses. (In row over Telangana Bill, shut-up exchanges in Parliament)
On Tuesday, moments after Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde took up the Telangana Bill in the Lok Sabha, the live telecast cut off and all doors and galleries were sealed. Facing a political uproar, the Lok Sabha secretariat ordered a probe and later called it a technical glitch.The BJP has called it a tactical glitch, accusing the government of a deliberate blackout. (Not technical, it was a 'tactical' glitch says Sushma Swaraj)
Rajeev Shukla indicated that the blackout may have been planned as he said, "There are provisions for TV cameras to be turned off whenever there are disruptions in the house, when MPs are in the well."
Many schools and colleges are shut in Seemandhra due to a shutdown called by anti-Telangana politicians including YSR Congress leader Jagan Mohan Reddy.
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