Telangana matter: Andhra Pradesh assembly adjourned until further notice

vIndianz.com (Dec. 14, 2009) — The Andhra Pradesh assembly was adjourned following chaos soon after it began for the day’s proceedings on Monday amidst slogan shouting by MLAs in favor of united Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, PTI reported. In yet another fallout of the Telangana controversy, Congress MP from Vijayawada L. Rajagopal was arrested at the airport here soon after he landed to commence an indefinite fast to resist the proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, police said. His arrest sparked protests in the Andhra state, according to IANS.

telangana Soon after the House began at 0900 hrs Speaker N Kiran Kumar Reddy took up the question hour. As the civil supplies minister J Krishna Rao was replying to the first listed questions from Congress, some members rose to their feet and raised slogans in favor of a unified state.

Government chief whip N Bhati Vikramaraka asked the members to take their seats whilst Speaker Reddy too appealed to them to allow the House performs its business. At that point, some TDP and Congress members also started raising slogans in favor of Telangana state. The Speaker then adjourned the proceedings for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, the ministers belonging to all regions held a joint meeting in the Assembly committee Hall previous to the House started in a bid to find an explanation to the continuing crisis. The meeting ended unexpectedly as the House proceedings began. After the House was adjourned the ministers went and met chief minister K Rosaiah.

The MP was taken to the Pahadi Shareef police station, where his supporters staged a sit-in to protest the arrest. The industrialist, whose Lanco Group of companies has enormous business interests in Hyderabad, is against the central government’s decision to give divide statehood to Telangana region, which comprises 10 districts including Hyderabad.

As tension was increasing in the city following TRS’ allegations that Rajagopal was bringing hired goons from Vijayawada to generate trouble in Hyderabad, police on Sunday night raided several hotels and lodges in the city and arrested numerous supporters of the MP.

Police have also intensified examination of all vehicles coming from Vijayawada to Hyderabad. On Sunday night, at least a dozen Congress leaders supporting Rajagopal were stopped and sent back to Vijayawada.

Andhra and Rayalseema regions of the state are witnessing protests for the previous four days against the government’s verdict to commence the process for granting separate statehood to Telangana.

Ruling Congress party legislators from the two regions also met chief minister K. Rosaiah to lodge their protest against Rajagopal’s arrest.

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