UPA government in minority, say Seemandhra MPs

Hyderabad, Dec 29 Five Congress MPs from Seemandhra, who recently moved a no-confidence motion in parliament against their own party-led government, Sunday told President Pranab Mukherjee that the UPA government had been reduced to a minority.

The MPs met the president, who is on his southern sojourn here, and demanded that he stall the process for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

Member of Parliament L. Rajagopal said they told President Mukherjee that the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government was reduced to a minority as it has the support of only 229 MPs.

“Any decision by the minority government is unconstitutional,” he said.

Rajagopal said though 70 MPs supported their no-confidence motion, the parliament session ended abruptly two days before the scheduled date.

The Seemandhra MPs said the central government was not following the due process to carve out Telangana state.

V. Arun Kumar, G.V. Harsha Kumar, Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, and Sabbam Hari were the other MPs who met Mukherjee.

The MPs demanded that the bill for the state’s bifurcation sent by the president to the state assembly should be debated, and put to vote.

They added that if the Centre went ahead with the process of bifurcation, Seemandhra MPs would press for debate on the no-confidence motion during the next parliament session.

Rajagopal said the debate would bring out the truth before the people, and added that the central government should go by the majority view after the voting on the bill.

Another MP Harsha Kumar said the Congress leadership ignored their opinion, and tabled the Telangana issue during the cabinet meet.

“We and the people of Seemandhra were insulted, and that is why we rebelled and moved no-confidence motion,” he added.

Meanwhile, state Information Technology Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah, who hails from Telangana, also called on the president and demanded that the process for the formation of a separate state be expedited.

Leaders of political parties and other groups — both for and against a separate Telangana state — have been meeting President Mukherjee for the last few days.

The president Dec 12 sent the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill 2013 to the state assembly for its views. He has asked the assembly to return the bill with its views by Jan 23.

The assembly is likely to debate the bill from Jan 3.