Telangana issue: Congress fires 6 MPs from Seemandhra

Cracking the whip, Congress today expelled six Lok Sabha MPs from Seemandhra who had given a notice of no-confidence motion against Government opposing bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

Faced with dissent in Andhra Pradesh, the party intended to send a strong message to those opposing creation of separate state with this decision but a dozen odd party MPs still maintained that they will vote against the Telangana bill when it comes to Parliament.

"Congress president Sonia Gandhi has approved the decision of the disciplinary committee of the AICC to expel the six MPs from Andhra Pradesh with immediate effect," said AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi in a press release.

The MPs expelled by Congress president Sonia Gandhi are Sabbam Hari, G V Harsha Kumar, V Arun Kumar, L Rajagopal, R Sambasiva Rao and A Sai Pratap.

All these MPs had signed the notice of non-confidence motion along with some MPs from other parties like TDP and the party has sought to give a strong message on Telangana issue by taking this "unprecedented" step.

Congress MP Ananta Venkatrami Reddy, who is among the 12 party MPs from Seemandhra who did not sign on the notice for no-confidence, told PTI, "we are totally against the bill for the bifurcation of the state and will vote against it when it comes to the House. We will see that the bill is defeated."

There are 25 MPs from the Seemandhra region including 18 from Congress, three from YSR Congress and four from TDP.

Maintaining he along with other Congress MPs from Seemandhra are also opposing the bill, Reddy said,"but how can we put a no-confidence motion against our own government. One thing is clear that we are totally opposed to the Telangana bill."

The stand by the party MPs from Seemandhra could be a cause of worry for Congress, which is repeatedly asserting that it remains committed to the creation of Telangana.

Asked about the expulsion of party MPs, AICC general secretary Ajay Maken said that Congress is committed to the creation of Telangana and the latest move is another step in that direction.