Let the house run, Congress appeals to TDP

The Congress Tuesday appealed to the four Telugu Desam Party (TDP) members, who disrupted the Lok Sabha over the Telangana issue, to cooperate so that the house could debate and pass the food security bill.

"We appeal to the TDP MPs to cooperate so that the food security bill can be passed," Congress spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit told reporters.

"We will be grateful if they cooperate," he said.

The house could not function even after an all-party meet agreed to run it as the four TDP MPs continued disrupting the house over the proposed creation of Telangana.

Dikshit expressed the hope that they would listen as the opposition and treasury benches had appealed to them to calm down.

He also said that Congress members from Andhra Pradesh raised the issue of united Andhra but did not disrupt the house since Monday.

The Congress is keen to pass the food security bill, a pet project of the party chief Sonia Gandhi.

Government sources expressed the hope that the appeal would work but said that in case the TDP members continued to disrupt the house, the speaker may name them Thursday which would mean they would not be allowed to attend the house for the duration it debates the food security bill.

The sources said the government does not want to expel the MPs as it would set a bad precedent.