Row on Andhra virtually blocks food bill in House
The Andhra issue has virtually blocked the food security bill which is going to be the Congress’ main plank in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
This is because the TDP MPs from Seemandhra have been raising the issue of a united Andhra Pradesh inside and outside Parliament from the day one of the Monsoon Session, which has been affecting the government’s legislative business.
The government’s floor managers want the agitating MPs to be suspended from the Lok Sabha but they are helpless as the Opposition parties are against the it.
According to a senior leader of Opposition, parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath has not been able to talk to the TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu with a request that he should control his MPs.
“Any action against the TDP MPs would evoke a strong reaction outside Telangana in Andhra Pradesh,” he feared.
While the Congress is firm on its decision to split Andhra Pradesh, its leaders are finding it difficult to convince the party MPs from Seemandhra as some of the Congress leaders have been also been joining the TDP MPs on the floor of Parliament.
“The fate of the food security bill hangs in balance,” viewed non-Congress MPs against the backdrop of these developments.
According to the BJP insiders, Mr Nath met Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj during the day. While the Samajwadi Party, the Trinamul Congress and other parties are opposing the bifurcation of Andhra, the BSP, the RLD and others want Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam and West Bengal to be split on the line of Telangana as well.
Meanwhile, the four member A.K. Antony committee constituted by the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to hear concerns of the people of Andhra following the CWC resolution on a separate Telangana state, on Wednesday met party leaders from Telangana.
They included Union ministers from the region and MPs.
Sources said the Telangana leaders urged the committee members to go ahead with the CWC resolution without a delay.
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