New Delhi: The Lok Sabha passed the Telangana Bill on Tuesday by voice vote amid pandemonium. The Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Bill, 2014, was adopted by voice vote along with 38 official amendments, with main opposition BJP coming on board.
He said the bill seeks to meet the democratic aspirations of the people of Telangana region by reorganizing the existing state into two separate states.
“I would like to reassure members of this House that we have tried our best to accommodate the concerns of all the stakeholders and mitigate the impact of the bifurcation of the state as much as possible,” he added.
The bill, which has led to immense rise of tempers in Seemandhra region, was passed after brief speeches by Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj and minister Jaipal Reddy, a pro-Telangana leader from Andhra Pradesh.
The bill was being enacted in “undue haste” and that too in the last days of the 15th Lok Sabha, they contend.
Swaraj, who spoke as per an understanding with the government, said her party supports the creation of Telangana but attacked the way it was being done.
“I and my party support the Bill…Telangana should be formed…We rise to prove our credibility and to see wishes of youth of Telangana are fulfilled,” Swaraj said amid vociferous protest by members from CPI(M), Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress in the Well.
Charging Congress with mishandling the issue of Telangana, she recalled that the BJP-led NDA had created three states during its tenure at the Centre without any disruption in Parliament or in any region.
Accusing the Congress of delaying the process of Telangana formation, the Leader of the Opposition said though the ruling party had promised Telangana way back in May 2004, it brought it at the far end of the 15th Lok Sabha.
“You have been in power in the last ten years, but you did nothing. You just sat over it,” she told Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
