7 national parties deny introducing of T bill in LS

Telangana Bill was today mired in yet another controversy with seven parties, including BJP, questioning government's statement that the bill has been introduced in the Lok Sabha, indicating that the proposed legislation could be reaching a dead end in this session.   

Leaders of six political parties including BJP, JD-U, SP, CPI and BJD led by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj met Speaker Meira Kumar and registered their opposition to the government's contention that the bill was introduced.

TMC and YSR Congress leaders also lodged their protest with the Speaker not accepting the introduction of the legislation. The government has claimed that the bill has been introduced, but we do not accept this, Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj told reporters after she led a delegation of six parties to the Speaker to lodge their protest in the matter.

The Bill was not introduced...how is government claiming so?...If government is claiming the bill was introduced, we do not believe so, she said, stating that the Bill was not there in the business of the day nor in the supplementary agenda. She said it was only at 2 PM that government included it as part of the supplementary agenda of Lok Sabha. I was sitting in the House even after the (pepper) spray incident and wanted to stay inside till I was advised by marshals to leave as it could cause harm to my health, she said, noting that she did not know when the bill was introduced even though she was inside Lok Sabha.

Other leaders who accompanied her to the Speaker included Sharad Yadav (JD-U), Gurudas Dasgupta (CPI), Shailendra Kumar (SP) and Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD). Kalyan Banerjee later met the Speaker to register his party's protest against the move. YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy also raised questions over the introduction of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill. He said it was a mockery to say that the bill has been introduced as the whole thing was over in ten seconds and there were no 'ayes' and 'noes'. The current session of Parliament concludes on February 21.

Jagan Mohan Reddy, whose party is staunchly opposed to the division of Andhra Pradesh, said they will move court in the matter. TRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao, however, insisted that the bill has been introduced and rules followed. On the other hand, Congress said while it has bitten the bullet it is unsure if the legislation will be passed in the current session.

Party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi insisted Congress has bitten the bullet on the formation of Telangana by introducing the bill in the Lok Sabha today but said its passage is a million dollar question. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said the bill has been introduced by him and it is now the property of the House. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath and Law Minister Kapil Sibal also said that the bill has been tabled.

Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sudip Bandyopadhyay earlier attacked Congress and the government for not including the bill in today's list of business. It is not even mentioned in the supplementary list of business of Lok Sabha. This is highly irregular. Most MPs were in the dark on the issue and Congress has made a mess of it, he said.
  - PTI