NDA to press for Telangana Bill in Winter Session of Parl

BJP-led NDA has said it will strongly demand that the Telangana Bill be brought in the Winter Session of Parliament and press for debates on issues like internal security, violence against women and subversion of constitutional bodies like JPC on 2G scam.

"The NDA wants that the Telangana Bill should be brought in this session of Parliament. However, we feel that the inclusion of two new districts in the proposed Telangana state is not ethical," Deputy Leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters after a meeting of NDA floor leaders in both Houses.

NDA is against the inclusion of Kurnool and Ananthpur in Telangana state.

However, much will depend on the results of the Assembly elections to five states that will be declared on December 8. BJP victory in three or more states is likely to make the opposition more aggressive on the government. But Prasad downplayed the issue.

"Since this will effectively be the last session of this Lok Sabha in which legislative work can be done, we want the House to function. We also expect that since the government has listed several Bills for passage, it will cooperate. Of late we have seen that Congress members themselves have been disrupting the House," he said.

He was referring to the Congress members from Telangana and Seemandhra regions of Andhra Pradesh who have protested in both Houses for and against formation of the new state.

Prasad emphasised that the opposition wants that the Lokpal Bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha earlier, be brought for discussion and passage in Rajya Sabha in this session. "The Select Committee of Rajya Sabha has already approved the amended Bill,"

BJP is keen on a debate on price rise, especially that of vegetables, in the recent days. It may move an Adjournment Motion along with the Left in Lok Sabha on the issue.

"There has been a spurt in the activities of Indian Mujahideen which is a cause for concern. Now it is also attacking political rallies as was seen in the Patna rally blast. We want a discussion on internal security with a focus on rallies being the new target," Prasad said.

The NDA is also miffed at the manner in which the JPC report on 2G spectrum scam was finalised. "We want a debate on the way JPC Chairperson P C Chacko compromised the parliamentary process in the preparation of the report," Prasad said.

BJP will raise the issue of plight of sugarcane growers of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka who have not got their due. "Deputy Leader of BJP in Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde will move a Calling Attention Motion on the matter," he said.

"The growing aggression of Pakistan and China is also a matter of concern. The manner in which China had reacted when President Pranab Mukherjee visited Arunachal Pradesh recently needs to be discussed," Prasad said.