JOIN US Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on Thursday rejected reports of him resigning, but called the introduction of the Telangana Bill in Parliament an “unfortunate and undemocratic act”.
“The Centre and the Congress should have waited for another two months and take the mandate of the people in the polls,” he said. Asked about his resignation, Reddy said he would take a collective decision along with the MLAs, MPs and Union ministers who opposed Telangana in Parliament. Reddy did not specify whether he would float a political party or any other forum for Samaikyandhra, but said Seemandhra Congress leaders would take collective action based on the future of the Telangana Bill in Parliament.
“It is very undemocratic to bulldoze the T-Bill without taking into consideration aspirations of the people of Seemandhra,” he said.
The chief minister spent most of his time in the Assembly with close aides J C Diwakar Reddy, Gade Venkat Reddy, Sake Shailajanath and Pithani Satyanaryana. He said nothing could be achieved by imposing the high command’s decision by force. “Even now, efforts should be made to ensure the bifurcation, if necessary, only by negotiations and discussions,” he said.
Kiran Kumar Reddy also found fault with the Centre and the party for trying out lunch diplomacy with the BJP. “How can you seek support of the BJP, whom you have called communal?” he said.
In the state Assembly, two bills were passed amid sloganeering by TRS members and others from the Telangana region. Finance Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy moved the Andhra Pradesh Appropriation (vote-on-account) Bill, 2014 and the Andhra Pradesh Appropriation Bill, 2014, which were eventually passed. Thursday was the last day of the brief session, convened to pass the vote-on-account budget.
Meanwhile, three congress MLAs – Adala Prabhakar Reddy (Sarvepally), Sridhar Krishna Reddy (Nellore urban) and Bandaru Satyananda Rao (Kothapeta-East Godavari) – resigned from the Congress and the Assembly. DH News Service