Telangana issue: Congress and TDP MPs conduct questionable, says YSR Congress

Castigating the Congress and TDP MPs for their theatrics in disrupting the Parliament proceedings, YSR Congress has said they should instead impress upon their leadership to review the decision of bifurcating the state or quit their posts to emphasize the seriousness.

"Chief Minister, who has been running around Delhi, should quit immediately to establish his sincerity as the Congress high command has made the Party stand clear. TDP MPs as well should mount pressure on N Chandrababu Naidu and ask him to take back the letter extending support for the bifurcation," YSR Congress MLA Srikanth Reddy told reporters here on Friday.

Instead of pursuing the issue with their respective leadership, MPs of Congress and TDP trying to show off resentment in the Parliament tantamount to enacting drama to gain personal and political mileage. As Congress high Command has taken a decision to divide the state, the MPs should question Congress President Sonia Gandhi or quit as they differ with the Party stand.

In case of TDP as well, the MPs are resorting to the same tactics. They are trying to put up a poor show in the Parliament by stalling the proceedings while the Party leader had in no uncertain terms gave a letter extending unconditional support to the bifurcation of the State much earlier.

"The TDP MPs should be questioning Chandrababu Naidu and mount pressure on him to withdraw the letter which became instrumental in the division of the State. Some of the MPs who said they had quit the House had not given the resignation letter in the prescribed format. Only Nandamuri Harikrishna had given it in the required format. Other MPs have only been trying to gain sympathy and political mileage by announcing that they are quitting their MP post without putting in the papers according to the procedure", he said.

"YSRCP on the other hand has made its stand very clear and has said that the division should be taken up only after all issues are considered and addressed properly by meting out equal justice to all regions. We have quit on those grounds and we stand by the letter," said Srikanth Reddy.

"What Congress and TDP MPs are doing is to show off that they are with the people of Seemandhra, who are expressing their dissent at all the available avenues even as the leadership has taken a decision which goes against the sentiments of the people.

This dichotomy is not acceptable and people are averse to such a ploy. Either the leaders should en masse call upon the leadership to revoke the decision or quit the Party to prove their sincerity. Otherwise the stalling of Parliament proceedings and display of placards would be read as scrambling for cheap publicity and putting up a fight which has no significance and sincerity," he added.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar today suspended 12 members of the Lower House for obstructing the proceedings on the Telangana statehood issue.

She named the members under Rule 374 (A) of the House proceedings which empowers the Speaker to automatically suspend a member for five consecutive sittings or the remainder of the session, whichever is less.

The Lok Sabha Speaker, who read out the names of the members- eight from the ruling Congress Party and four from Telegu Desam Party (TDP)-asked them to leave immediately.