JOIN USA much-awaited Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Draft Bill has reached the state. Assistant Secretary to the Union Home Ministry Suresh Kumar handed over several copies of the bill to Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Prasanna Kumar Mohanty at secretariat on Thursday night.
The Home Ministry official flew to the state capital from New Delhi to personally hand over the bill to the government. Arrival of the draft acquired importance since the Assembly was in session and there was an urgency among the Congress high command to complete this process at the earliest, even though they said it was a mere formality.
President Pranab Mukherjee has given the Assembly time till January 23, 2014, to express its view on the draft bill. There were reports that the President wanted to have a legal opinion on the draft bill, therefore it might not reach the Assembly on time. However, observers said the series of developments indicated that the UPA government was continuing with its old ways regarding the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh is slated to meet Governor E S L Narasimhan on Thursday night. They were expected to discuss issues related to the draft bill. Government whip Arepalli Mohan said there was every possibility of the bill being introduced in due course of time, after a separate Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting to fix duration for discussion and other issues.
The Chief Minister’s Office was tight-lipped about the possible course of action on the bill. Sources said the BAC will meet on Friday to decide whether the bill should be introduced in the current session, which will conclude on December 20.