Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge read out interim rail budget amid protests in the Lok Sabha
The proposal to divide Andhra Pradesh and carve out a state of Telangana led to ugly and embarrassing scenes in Parliament today.
"My heart bleeds to see what is happening in the House. This is bad for democracy," said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, shortly after two MPs nearly attacked each other before other lawmakers intervened.
Union Minister Pallam Raju called the Prime Minister's comments unfair. Another minister KS Rao said, "My heart bleeds too. You can't divide the state because of a few seats or political advantage." Both ministers belong to the non-Telangana regions of Seemandhra which are vehemently opposed to the politically-charged plan to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.
Hours later at a lunch hosted by the Prime Minister, senior BJP leaders made it clear that the bill to create Telangana "cannot be passed in the din," without a proper discussion. The PM and other ministers reportedly agreed to ask the Speaker to find a way out.
Sources say 25 MPs from Andhra Pradesh may be named and asked to leave before the bill is taken up in the Lok Sabha.
The Congress yesterday expelled six Lok Sabha members who had moved a no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister, to signal that it will not tolerate dissent and that it is determined to push through its Telangana plan, designed as vote-bait for the coming national election.
This session, which ends on February 21, is the last before the election, due by May. Since it began about a week ago, Parliament has been paralyzed with angry disruptions from lawmakers opposed to Telangana. Papers have been torn and flung inside the Rajya Sabha and the chairman's mic pulled out.
Politicians from Seemandhra are worried about a downsizing of their share of water, power and revenue from Telangana, which includes the booming economy of the IT hub Hyderabad.