Indian Lok Sabha passes Telangana bill

(IANS) / 18 February 2014 The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Telangana bill by voice vote amid pandemonium. Amid pandemonium, the Lok Sabha finally passed a bill aimed at carving out a Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday. The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill was passed by voice vote in the face of noisy protests by Andhra Pradesh MPs opposed to Telangana as well as a section of the opposition parties. The critics, including at least one Congress cabinet minister and CPI-M members, massed near Speaker Meira Kumar screaming slogans against Andhra Pradesh's bifurcation but they were ignored. A fuming Jagan Mohan Reddy, leader of the YSR Congress, called it 'a black day' in the history of India and announced a general strike in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday. 'The bill was passed in parliament today against the will of the (Andhra) assembly, against the will of the people of Andhra Prdesh,' he told the media. 'Today we saw how undemocratically the bill has been passed... The way the proceedings took place, the way the yes and nos were called by the speaker very clearly showed how democracy can be killed in broad daylight. 'It is a black day in the history of the country. We are declaring a bandh in Andhra Pradesh tomorrow,' he said. Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) chairman M. Kodandaram congratulated people of Telangana, after the Lok Sabha passed the bill. Talking to reporters in the national capital, he described it as people’s victory. He dedicated the victory to those who laid down their lives for Telangana state. Kodandaram said Andhra Pradesh was dividing into two states but the good relations with the people of Seemandhra would continue. He thanked Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj for their efforts to pass the bill. JAC, which spearhead the movement for Telangana state for last four years, comprises Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and other political and non-political groups.