Seemandhra vs Telangana sit-ins in Delhi

TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and YSR Congress Party chief Jaganmohan Reddy too are lobbying in Delhi against the Bill. Naidu, who met BJP leaders L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj, CPI’s A B Bardhan and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, said, “I have always maintained that justice should be done to both regions… the Congress is just interested in winning a few seats.” But differences in the TDP too surfaced with its leader in the Lok Sabha, Nama Nageshwara Rao, saying he would be first to vote in favour of the Bill.

Jaganmohan, who decided to skip a meeting of leaders of parties in New Delhi, wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar: “It is the firm view of our party that the Bill should not be tabled in Parliament after it was rejected by the assembly… Our party is of the view that it is morally not proper to table a Bill rejected by the assembly.”

Andhra Pradesh Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana vowed the opposition to the Bill would be as strong as in the assembly.  On the other side, Telangana leaders of the Congress and TRS leaders lobbied with senior Congress leaders and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ensure that the Bill is tabled. TRS president K Chandrasekhara Rao said the PM had assured him the Bill would be tabled.

The Congress, meanwhile, plans to delay tabling the Bill until after pushing six anti-corruption Bills showcased by Rahul Gandhi and taking up the Communal Violence Bill. Party sources said the government plans to introduce it in the Rajya Sabha, which will ensure that the legislation will not lapse. Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh Digvijaya Singh and political secretary to the Congress president Ahmed Patel met MPs from both regions. Sources said the seven MPs, who had moved a no-confidence motion against the government, conveyed to the leaders that they will not cooperate.