Parliament's last session begins with sparring over Telangana, both Houses adjourned::NEWS

New Delhi:  The final session of Parliament got off to a noisy start today as Seemandhra and Telangana MPs sparred with each other on the ...

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New Delhi:  The final session of Parliament got off to a noisy start today as Seemandhra and Telangana MPs sparred with each other on the floor of the two Houses as soon as they assembled for the day, forcing their adjournment for an hour. 

The MPs disregarded the Prime Minister appeal earlier in the day, urging "all sections to contribute and make this a historic session," and ensure that key legislation is passed.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram was more realistic. "I doubt if Parliament will pass any bill in this session," he said. It's likely that parliament will be stalled often by law-makers from different parties protesting against the government's decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh and turn the region of Telangana into a state.

The immediate crisis for the government is that law-makers from Andhra Pradesh say they will ask for the PM to take a trust vote over its Telangana plans. "These are minor hiccups and I hope they will set aside their prejudices for a conducive session," the PM said about the embarrassment of members from his own party moving a no-confidence motion against him.

The union government has said Telangana, one of the three regions of Andhra Pradesh, will be made India's 29th state.  The other two regions, referred to as "Seemandhra" are virulently opposed to this and their representatives say they will fight the move.

The Congress' central leadership wants parliament to debate and vote on the bill that splits the state so that it can make electoral gains in Telangana in the national election.  But state leaders from the Congress, including Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, want the opposite. Unless Andhra Pradesh goes to the polls undivided, they will be punished by voters.

Mr Reddy led an initiative last week that resulted in the Andhra Pradesh state legislature rejecting the bill that the centre wants to push through parliament.

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