Telangana Bill should not be pushed amidst din in Parliament: Ramesh
17 Feb 2014 12:55 AM GMT
‘Surely, I would be the first to argue that such a far- reaching Bill should be discussed in Parliament, should be debated and should not be pushed through in a cacophony when protests of a violent nature are taking place,’ Ramesh told Karan Thapar on his Devil’s Advocate programme on CNN-IBN.
Asked whether the government would pull the Bill if a sensible debate could not be held over it, Ramesh said, ‘My personal belief is that such an important piece of legislation must be debated and discussed and not pushed through in a din.’
Ramesh, a key member of the GoM on Telangana, said he had articulated his position on the issue at party fora as well.
‘We shouldn’t have any unilateral initiative in the House. We have to bring BJP on board. We should try to create a larger consensus beyond BJP as well. We have four days left. I hope we can get it done,’ he said.
Ramesh’s statement comes at a time when the opposition has rejected the government’s claim that it had tabled the Telangana Bill in Parliament.
‘I spoke to the home minister on Saturday. He said that the Bill has been introduced. There are differing views on it. I know Sushma Swaraj has given a different view. It is the reading of the home minister as also the parliamentary affairs minister that the Bill stands introduced,’ Ramesh added.
The Congress leader also slammed his party colleague and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who has publicly opposed the bifurcation of the state.
‘I think Reddy has not been loyal to the Congress party... Unfortunately, he is a Congress chief minister... I am sorry, he is a good friend of mine... but I think he has really crossed the Lakshman Rekha of discipline as far as I am concerned,’ said Ramesh, a Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh.
Pepper attack: Matter referred to Lok Sabha privileges panel
New Delhi: The issue of the pepper spray incident in the Lok Sabha, which saw widespread outrage and condemnation, was today referred to the Privileges Committee that has got punitive powers.
The decision was taken by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.
‘The Speaker has referred the matters relating to incidents that happened in the Lok Sabha, on 13 February, to the Committee of Privileges of Lok Sabha for examination and report,’ a Lok Sabha Secretariat release said.
The 15-member Committee, headed by senior Congress leader P C Chacko, has power to take punitive measures which include recommending imprisonment and even expulsion among others.
In a new low in India’s parliamentary history, pepper spray was used in the Lok Sabha resulting in hospitalisation of three MPs following a ruckus over introduction of the Telangana bill after which 16 seemandhra MPs were suspended.
The Speaker had expressed anguish over the incidents saying it has ‘shamed the country and Parliament’ and called it a ‘blot’.
Unprecedented pandemonium broke out in the House when expelled Congress member L Rajagopal, an industrialist and opposed to the division of Andhra Pradesh, brought a canister from which he sprayed pepper.
Asked whether the government would pull the Bill if a sensible debate could not be held over it, Ramesh said, ‘My personal belief is that such an important piece of legislation must be debated and discussed and not pushed through in a din.’
Ramesh, a key member of the GoM on Telangana, said he had articulated his position on the issue at party fora as well.
‘We shouldn’t have any unilateral initiative in the House. We have to bring BJP on board. We should try to create a larger consensus beyond BJP as well. We have four days left. I hope we can get it done,’ he said.
Ramesh’s statement comes at a time when the opposition has rejected the government’s claim that it had tabled the Telangana Bill in Parliament.
‘I spoke to the home minister on Saturday. He said that the Bill has been introduced. There are differing views on it. I know Sushma Swaraj has given a different view. It is the reading of the home minister as also the parliamentary affairs minister that the Bill stands introduced,’ Ramesh added.
The Congress leader also slammed his party colleague and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who has publicly opposed the bifurcation of the state.
‘I think Reddy has not been loyal to the Congress party... Unfortunately, he is a Congress chief minister... I am sorry, he is a good friend of mine... but I think he has really crossed the Lakshman Rekha of discipline as far as I am concerned,’ said Ramesh, a Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh.
Pepper attack: Matter referred to Lok Sabha privileges panel
New Delhi: The issue of the pepper spray incident in the Lok Sabha, which saw widespread outrage and condemnation, was today referred to the Privileges Committee that has got punitive powers.
The decision was taken by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.
‘The Speaker has referred the matters relating to incidents that happened in the Lok Sabha, on 13 February, to the Committee of Privileges of Lok Sabha for examination and report,’ a Lok Sabha Secretariat release said.
The 15-member Committee, headed by senior Congress leader P C Chacko, has power to take punitive measures which include recommending imprisonment and even expulsion among others.
In a new low in India’s parliamentary history, pepper spray was used in the Lok Sabha resulting in hospitalisation of three MPs following a ruckus over introduction of the Telangana bill after which 16 seemandhra MPs were suspended.
The Speaker had expressed anguish over the incidents saying it has ‘shamed the country and Parliament’ and called it a ‘blot’.
Unprecedented pandemonium broke out in the House when expelled Congress member L Rajagopal, an industrialist and opposed to the division of Andhra Pradesh, brought a canister from which he sprayed pepper.
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