The Congress on Monday staged a walkout in Telangana Assembly protesting against the failure of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to keep his promise to lead an all-party delegation to New Delhi to mount pressure on the Central Government against the merger of seven mandals in Khammam district with Andhra Pradesh.

Leading the walkout during question hour, senior Congress leader G. Chinna Reddy also criticised the Government for dragging the name of former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh into the controversy over merger though the latter had nothing to do with it as he headed the Ministry of Rural Development while the issue related to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

As a member of the Group of Ministers that went into issues of bifurcation of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Jairam Ramesh merely proposed 136 villages that faced the threat of submergence under Polavaram Project. But, it was Union Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu who played a key role in the transfer of seven mandals covering the submergence zone to Andhra Pradesh after the BJP came to power, Mr. Reddy said.

Lower Sileru power project

He recalled the Chief Minister agreeing to the transfer of the mandals on the ground that it was no longer a matter of concern because Telangana achieved its Statehood. He also criticised Legislative Affairs Minister T. Harish Rao for steering the debate into bifurcation of the State while the Congress raised a specific question on the steps taken by the State Government to get its share of power from Lower Sileru project which was part of seven mandals.

Mr. Harish Rao accused Mr. Jairam Ramesh of doing gross injustice to Telangana as a member of the team that prepared draft bifurcation Bill. He asked why the Congress did not oppose the Bill that replaced an ordinance transferring the mandals when it was taken up in Rajya Sabha where the party had a majority. Instead, the Congress supported the Bill introduced by the BJP led NDA Government.

Blaming Puvvada Ajya Kumar

The heated debate preceding the walkout spilled over into the next question as Mr. Harish Rao blamed the Congress MLA Puvvada Ajay Kumar who raised the issue for lacking understanding and subject knowledge about Sileru when the party members were not present in the hall.

The Congress MLAs came back within minutes even as Mr. Ajay Kumar squatted near the podium demanding withdrawal of the words as they were derogatory in nature. The scenes ended with the Minister’s assurance that he did not intend to degrade the MLA.

Source: TH