The state of Andhra Pradesh may soon come under the President’s rule with Governor ESL Narasimhan recommending imposition of central rule after the resignation of Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy over the issue of state’s bifurcation.
According to reports, the imposition of President rule will ensure smooth bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in two states.
It is also likely that the Assembly elections may be postponed and held in two separate states, sources claim.
With both the houses of Parliament clearing the Telangana Bill, it would now go before the President who would issue a final notification on the matter.
While the central government would have a lot to do on the issue, there is one matter however which would be decided by the Supreme Court – whether the two states would have two high courts.
The notification on Telangana to be issued by the President is likely to come out on February 21 or 22.
However, it is immediately not clear whether Narasimhan has recommended for dissolution of the State Assembly or to keep the House under suspended animation.
A decision on imposition of central rule in Andhra Pradesh is expected to be taken in the next meeting of the Union Cabinet, which will recommend to the President.
With Parliament approving the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill 2014, paving way for the creation of Telganana as the 29th state, the political turmoil over its future is certainly over but the political parties are now fighting to take credit for clearing all hurdles from its path to statehood.
Reacting to the passage of the Telangana Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley said that it was a historic day, and that he was happy that his party’s efforts to deal with the issue had paid off.
“This is a historic day and I am happy that the BJP’s efforts have paid off. We could have opposed the Bill, but we didn’t. We have played an important role in passing this legislation,” Jaitley told reporters late on Thursday.
In its reaction to the development, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said that the bill had been passed with the support of majority of the people in the Rajya Sabha including the BJP.
“Two days back bill was passed in Lok Sabha and the Opposition had also supported it. When the bill went to the Rajya Sabha, it was passed because of the support of the BJP and the other parties,” Shinde said.
Shinde, however, stressed, “Sonia Gandhi and the party decided to give justice to the people of Seemandhra and everyone supported the passage of Telangana.”
