Narayan demands scrapping of AP Reorganisation bill

Lok Satta Party president N Jayaprakash Narayan today said the draft AP Reorganisation Bill 2013 is full of flaws and demanded that it be scrapped forthwith.

The Centre should come up with a new Bill after the general elections, he said.

Narayan accused the Centre of ignoring the wishes of the state over the proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and stressed the need for a "negotiated settlement."

"The GoI is acting as if the wishes of the state do not matter. The process (of bifurcation) and the form of the Bill are deeply flawed and will convert India into a de facto unitary country," Narayan said here today.

Asking the state Legislature, to which the draft Bill was referred to by the President of India, to express its "collective view," the legislator asserted that "voting" on the Bill was the right of the members.

"Stalling debate (on the draft Bill) only hurts the cause of all regions. And denying the vote on the Bill itself violates federalism," he remarked.

The members and the House have the duty to reflect the people's views, he said.

Noting that "process and the form" of the Bill were deeply flawed, Narayan appealed the Legislature to reject it.

"A negotiated settlement satisfying all regions is possible and necessary. On that basis, a new Bill can be taken up after the election," the bureaucrat-turned-politician said.

He, however, said they could not go back to status quo.

"For years, Assembly hardly functioned and ministers are no longer working collectively," he lamented.