Telangana: 5 union ministers meet Advani, urge BJP to oppose bill

mangaloretoday.com / NDTV

New Delhi, Feb 17:  The political battle over Telangana intensified today as YSR Congress leader Jagan Mohan Reddy sat on a protest with his supporters at Jantar Mantar, a short distance from Parliament where five union ministers from Andhra Pradesh met senior BJP leader LK Advani to persuade the main opposition party to oppose a bill to create Telangana by dividing their state.

 

The Centre is determined to push the bill through Parliament before the session ends this week.



Here are the latest updates on this story:

    Central ministers from Andhra Pradesh, including Chiranjeevi, Pallam Raju and Purandeswari met Mr Advani before Parliament assembled for the day. These ministers are from the non-Telangana Seemandhra region that is opposed to bifurcation.

    Mr Advani’s BJP said it backs Telangana but will not support any move to push legislation in chaos. The main opposition party has asked the government to bring order in its ranks first. (Live Blog)

    Last week, protests against Telangana led to some of the worst scenes ever witnessed in Indian Parliament with an expelled Congress MP, L Rajagopal, using pepper spray on his colleagues in the Lok Sabha and other MPs yanking mics, and breaking a computer. 16 MPs were suspended for the violence on Thursday. (read: MPs shame India, vandalize Parliament)

    The violence began just as Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde introduced the Telangana Bill. The BJP and the Left have criticised the manner in which the bill was introduced. BJP said the government had lost the right to try and clear any legislation other than the interim budget.

    Anti-Telangana politician Jagan Mohan Reddy said he would be willing to support BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi if he supported his cause. "We will support anyone who helps us keep Andhra Pradesh united. Why should Narendra Modi be an exception?" Mr Reddy told NDTV. He added that there was no question of any alliance with the Congress as they are responsible for "the murder of democracy." (read: highlights of Jagan Reddy’s interview)

    Eight trainloads of people from Andhra Pradesh, including government employees from Seemandhra, have arrived in Delhi to participate in protests against Telangana.

    Three key metro stations have been shut till evening due to security concerns in the most protected VIP zone in the heart of the city.

    Anti-Telangana MPs protested while Finance Minister P Chidambaram presented his interim budget, the last before the national election, in Parliament.

    The Centre has five days to pass the bill that will create India’s 29th state. The ruling Congress hopes to reap electoral dividends from Telangana in the national election, due by May, but is facing opposition from its leaders in the residuary region, Seemandhra, including Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy.

    Seemandhra is worried about a smaller share of water, power and revenue from Telangana once the new state is created.