New Delhi: Is the Telangana Bill going the same way as the Women's Reservation Bill? There are clear indications that the ruling Congress at the Centre may not do anything beyond tabling the Bill in Parliament. It has tabled the most controversial Telangana Bill amidst chaos and violence in the Lok Sabha. The main opposition BJP is even questioning the constitutionality of the Bill and the manner in which it was tabled.
The Women's Reservation Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010 and is still pending before the Lok Sabha. Telangana Bill may also face the same fate.
The Lok Sabha witnessed chaotic scenes in the morning. The moment Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde tabled the Bill in the Lok Sabha, angry MPs from Seemandhra region rushed to the well of the House shouting slogans. Some of them even tried to snatch parliamentary papers. But, what two MPs from Seemandhra region did inside the house has shocked and angered the entire nation.
Industrialist and suspended Congress MP L Rajagopal, from Vijayawada, did the unthinkable. He sprayed pepper sprays in the House. It caused burning sensations to several MPs and many others started coughing and sneezing. Half a dozen MPs even reportedly collapsed. Ambulances were summoned and 4 injured MPs were immediately rushed to the nearby Ram Manohar Lohia hospital. Rajagopal was backed by many other MPs from Seemandhra region.
Then TDP MP Venugopal Reddy allegedly brandished a knife in the house. He later dismissed the reports that he had brandished a knife saying that it was a microphone and not a knife!
According to the MPs present, some MPs even hit each other. Some of them even tried to attack MPs from Telangana region. The pro-Telangana political party TRS chief K Chandrashekhara Rao defended the demand for a separate state citing today's incident in Parliament. Some Seemandhra MPs alleged that the Telangana MPs tried to attack them.
After many years, marshalls were used to overpower violent MPs. Senior leaders and veteran MPs witnessed the horror in disbelief. A visibly shaken Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said, "What has happened has shamed us. It is a blot on our Parliamentary democracy."
Within two hours of the most shameful incident in the history of our Parliament, the Speaker suspended 17 MPs from Seemandhra region for today's incident.
Parliamentary Affairs minister Kamal Nath to BJP patriarch LK Advani expressed anguish over the incident. According to some veteran journalists who have been covering Parliament for decades today's incident was unprecedented. They say that nobody had expected the MPs to use pepper sprays and brandish a knife inside the House.
Senior BJP leader and MP Jaswant Singh expressed horror over the incident. An angry Jaswant Singh said, "Unprecedented scenes in House. The government knew about the threats, but wasn't prepared to handle or prevent it. Parliamentary institution has been destroyed. For the sake of some votes government is compromising on everything. Wrong for government to say the Bill has been introduced I was present in the House."
Andhra Pradesh CM N Kiran Kumar Reddy who has been openly attacking the Centre over division of the state has once again criticised the manner in which the Telangana Bill was introduced. He has now dared the Congress high command in New Delhi go ahead with the Bill. But, some say he is also a part of the Congress 'conspiracy'.
What went wrong
It is true that this kind of reaction was not entirely unexpected. The anti-Telangana MPs were giving enough hints that they will do something unthinkable. L Rajagopal made a statement that he was ready to go to any extent to oppose the tabling of the Bill. Agitating MPs took the advantage of Parliamentary immunity. Rules prohibit the frisking of MPs at Parliament house. Because of that Rajagopal could easily carry a pepper spray with him. Some of the MPs are now demanding that even the MPs should be frisked if there is any doubt about their intentions.
The government could have asked the Speaker to suspend these MPs from the Lok Sabha a day before tabling of the Bill. It could have avoided the most shameful act, which Parliament was forced to witness today.
Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj strongly criticised the government for today's incident. She described the whole incident as a drama. She has even alleged that it was a part of Congress conspiracy.
The mishandling of tabling of the Bill on part of the government is evident. Either it failed to gauge the situation or as Sushma Swaraj alleges it was also a part of the alleged conspiracy.
What next
According to Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde the Telangana Bill is now a property of the Lok Sabha. If the Speaker succeeds in restoring the order, she can allow a debate over the Bill and after that she can put the Bill to vote. If the Lok Sabha clears it, it will have to go through the same procedure in the Rajya Sabha before the new state comes into existence. Under the current circumstances, the easy passage of the Bill looks very difficult. Even if the government tries to get it cleared by a voice vote, it may not be able to justify its act.
According to political analysts the Congress at the Centre may stop after this. They may blame the violence in the House and opposition parties for not being able to get the Telangana Bill passed.
Does it help the Congress? It's a very difficult question.
The undivided Andhra Pradesh has 42 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress won 33 of them in 2009.
Of total 42 seats, 25 seats are in the Seemandhra region. The Congress is staring at a huge debacle in this region. If the new state is created, it may not be able to win even a single seat here. The YSR Congress Party chief YS Jaga Mohan Reddy who is stridently opposed to the division of Andhra Pradesh is expected to do extremely well here. The TDP is also in the race.
If the new state is created, the Congress can hope to make big gains in Telangana region with 17 MPs. According to analysts, it can sweep the new state if it manages to clinch an electoral alliance with the TRS.
Introducing the Bill in the Lok Sabha and not going further may not help the Congress across all regions. The TRS is likely to go to voters alleging that the Congress has betrayed the people of Telangana after promising a new state. The TRS is likely to reap the benefits of instability.
In Seemandhra region, the opposition YSR Congress and TDP are expected to claim the credit for stalling the Telangana Bill and preventing the division of state. They will surely campaign against the Congress blaming it for the current chaotic situation across AP.
According to some insiders Kiran Kumar Reddy is actually working for the Congress and if he floats a new party, it may eat into Jagan Mohan Reddy's votes. They claim that it will indirectly help the Congress to remain relevant in Seemandhra.
But, some local leaders caution that it may even backfire because the people of Seemandhra can understand such political tricks.
Nobody can deny the fact that the Congress's indecisiveness, its cheap political gimmicks and a cynical political move have almost destroyed once prosperous and progressive state of Andhra Pradesh.
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