New Delhi:
The government is set for a major challenge as it prepares to introduce in Parliament a controversial bill that creates a state of Telangana by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh. Both houses were adjourned early today amid protests by MPs opposed to the new state.
Sources say senior ministers are holding a series of meetings with BJP leaders to ensure the support of the main opposition party when the bill is introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The BJP has reportedly asked for six changes in the version of the bill approved by the cabinet on Friday. The party has called for a financial package for the Seemandhra region, or the two non-Telangana districts.
Sources say government is considering action against at least eight MPs in Rajya Sabha, including its own MPs from Seemandhra.
The BJP's support for Telangana might come at the cost of a series of anti-corruption bills that were also lined up for this short session, the last before the national election, due by May. The BJP had described these bills as "Rahul Gandhi's poll agenda."
The Congress last week accepted some of the demands of Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and other politicians opposed to Telangana, but did not agree to designate the IT hub of Hyderabad a union territory. It will be a shared capital for the next 10 years between the old and new state but its revenue is unlikely to be divided, said sources.
The Chief Minister and other dissenters have been trying to delay the bill's introduction in Parliament in the hope that Andhra Pradesh will head into the election undivided, sparing them the wrath of voters worried about losing power, water and other resources from Telangana.
The Congress-led central government is determined to push the bill through before the session ends on February 21. The party's central leadership believes that the move will be a vote-getter in Telangana.
Sources say senior ministers are holding a series of meetings with BJP leaders to ensure the support of the main opposition party when the bill is introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The BJP has reportedly asked for six changes in the version of the bill approved by the cabinet on Friday. The party has called for a financial package for the Seemandhra region, or the two non-Telangana districts.
Sources say government is considering action against at least eight MPs in Rajya Sabha, including its own MPs from Seemandhra.
The BJP's support for Telangana might come at the cost of a series of anti-corruption bills that were also lined up for this short session, the last before the national election, due by May. The BJP had described these bills as "Rahul Gandhi's poll agenda."
The Congress last week accepted some of the demands of Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and other politicians opposed to Telangana, but did not agree to designate the IT hub of Hyderabad a union territory. It will be a shared capital for the next 10 years between the old and new state but its revenue is unlikely to be divided, said sources.
The Chief Minister and other dissenters have been trying to delay the bill's introduction in Parliament in the hope that Andhra Pradesh will head into the election undivided, sparing them the wrath of voters worried about losing power, water and other resources from Telangana.
The Congress-led central government is determined to push the bill through before the session ends on February 21. The party's central leadership believes that the move will be a vote-getter in Telangana.
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