Don't send Telangana bill to parliament: Kiran, Jagan urge president

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy Wednesday called on President Pranab Mukherjee separately in the national capital and appealed to him to not forward the Telangana bill to parliament.

With the union cabinet likely to send the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill 2013 to the president for forwarding the same to parliament this week, despite both the houses of the state legislature rejecting the bill, the chief minister and Jagan met the president with their requests.

Kiran Reddy, accompanied by Congress MPs, state ministers and legislators from Seemandhra, later told reporters that he was confident that president will take the will of the people into cognizance while taking a decision under article 3 of the constitution.

Claiming that the resolutions reflect the collective will and aspirations of majority of the Telugu-speaking people, the chief minister urged the president to take appropriate decision in the best interest of people and keep the state united.

The chief minister, who along with some central ministers from Seemandhra earlier sat on a silent protest at Jantar Mantar, alleged that "bifurcation is proposed in an arbitrary manner without any policy guidelines, adversely affecting the unity, integrity and federal character, which are the basic features of the constitution".

Jagan also urged the president to keep the state united. He complained that the central government is going ahead with the process of bifurcation in an arbitrary manner and without following the procedures and conventions adopted for division of other states in the country.

He hoped the opposition parties in parliament will unite and teach a lesson to the Congress.

"The opposition parties fear that the central government may misuse the power to split other states," he said.

Jagan said he would meet leaders of BJP and other parties to request them to defeat the bill, if it was tabled in parliament.

He said his party was also ready to support any no-confidence motion against the government.