New Delhi: Ministers and MPs from Seemandhara region who are adamant over stalling the passage of the Telangana Bill, will meet at Guntur MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao's residence in Delhi at 7:30 pm to decide their further course of action on the issue in the Parliament on Monday.
Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had tabled the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Thursday amidst chaotic scenes in the House.
But the House was soon adjourned after unruly and unprecedented scenes were witnessed in the Parliament. Pepper spray, broken glass and stationery were used as missiles in the Lok Sabha as a mode of protest as soon as the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) tabled the controversial Telangana Bill.
Angry MPs from Seemandhra region had rushed to the well of the House shouting slogans. Some of them even tried to snatch parliamentary papers. While, protest in Parliament has become an everyday affair now, two MPs from Seemandhra region did the unthinkable.
Industrialist and suspended Congress MP L Rajagopal, from Vijayawada, sprayed pepper spray in the House causing burning sensations to several MPs and many started coughing and sneezing. Half a dozen MPs even reportedly collapsed. Ambulances were summoned and four injured MPs were immediately rushed to the nearby Ram Manohar Lohia hospital. Rajagopal was backed by many other MPs from the Seemandhra region.
Then TDP MP Venugopal Reddy allegedly brandished a knife in the House. He later dismissed reports that he had brandished a knife saying that it was a microphone and not a knife. "I pulled the mic that was in front of the secretary general. It may have looked like a knife but I did not bring any knife inside the House. I was beaten up by 10 MPs. I will lodge a complaint. The House belongs to the Speaker and us," he had said defending his actions.
Even as the teary eyed and coughing MPs rushed out of Lok Sabha, an agitated Speaker Meira Kumar felt ashamed at how things turned out in the House. "What has happened has shamed us. It is a blot on our Parliamentary democracy," she said.
After many years, marshalls were used to overpower violent MPs. Senior leaders and veteran MPs witnessed the horror in disbelief. Subsequently 17 MPs who initiated the agitation were suspended from the Parliament.
With protests ranging from roads to Parliament, its impact on the government's decision on Telangana remains to be seen. It is also to be seen whether the sense of betrayal amidst the people of Seemandhara will be addressed by Parliament. Meanwhile, government sources are saying that the Bill will be brought for discussion next week after the vote on account.
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