Assembly gets one more week to debate Bill

The six-week time given by the President while sending the draft bifurcation Bill to the Assembly ended on Thursday

President Pranab Mukherjee has given one more week for Andhra Pradesh state legislative Assembly to send its views on the draft AP Reorganisation Bill, 2013, facilitating the members to discuss the draft Bill on the floor of the House till January 30. The six-week time given by the President while sending the Bill to the Assembly on December 11 ended today.

The one-week extension came on the last day as against chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy's request for four weeks. Reddy's critics termed his request as a ploy to delay the process of sending the Bill to Parliament  though they do not see any problem in extension of time by just a week as the Parliament session would start only in the first week of February.

Union Minister Sushilkumar Shinde today reiterated in Delhi they would be placing the AP Reorganisation Bill, which seeks to bifurcate the state, in the ongoing winter session.

Though the chief minister continued his anti-bifurcation rhetoric in the Assembly for the second consecutive day today, he had to face some anxious moments on whether the President would extend the time. The communication about the one week breather came only on Thursday afternoon. He even held brief consultations with ministers from Seemandhra on what should to be done in the event  the time was not extended.  

Heavy attention was drawn to the chief minister's address as there was a talk he would announce his resignation as chief minister while concluding his speech. Some of the ministers who spoke with Reddy during the afternoon consultations later told reporters there were no indications of any drastic move by the chief minister.

AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh's reported statement that the chief minister was in fact coming to Delhi on Friday to discuss the draft Bill with him indirectly supported their version.

The chief minister, who spoke amid constant interruptions from Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) members, said the bifurcation would make Telangana a massive power deficit state both in meeting the immediate demand and also in meeting the power requirement of large lift irrigation projects under implementation.