Telangana ministers offended with CM over his stand on AP Bill

Hyderabad, Ministers from Andhra Pradesh's Telangana region have raised a banner of revolt against Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy after he described the AP Reorganisation Bill-2013, referred to the state Legislature by the President, as unconstitutional.

Deputy Chief Minister C Damodara Rajanarasimha demanded that Reddy step down while some other ministers from the region made known their displeasure by opposing the chief minister's move on the floor of the Assembly.

"We are not recognising Kiran as Leader of the House. He has insulted ministers from Telangana (by seeking to move a resolution to return the Bill to the Centre). He should resign from the CM's post forthwith," the Deputy CM demanded today.

He said the decision to move such a resolution, in the name of the government, was taken without consulting the Council of Ministers, which is "highly objectionable" and against the "spirit of collective responsibility."

"Under the Constitution, government means Council of Ministers and no individual minister, including the Chief Minister, can call himself the government," he said.

"By trooping into the Well of the House, the ministers (from Telangana) indirectly indicated that they are no longer part of the government," he noted.

Separately, Information Technology Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah wrote a letter to the Governor taking "strong objection" to the chief minister's move.

"The Council of Ministers never discussed it (the proposed resolution), much less approved it, for being moved in the Legislature. It's a serious issue and deserves your immediate attention," Ponnala said in the letter.

Apparently unfazed by their Telangana colleagues' objections, ministers from Seemaandhra region were closeted in a meeting with Kiran Reddy and decided to "go ahead" with the sole objective of defeating the Bill in the Legislature.

Interestingly, they also decided to seek more time from the President, for returning the Bill, citing the disruption of the House proceedings by Telangana legislators, including ministers.

The President originally gave time till January 23 and subsequently extended it till the 30th for the Legislature to express its views and return the Bill.