By: J R Janumpalli
Seemandhra leaders, blinded by their ego-centrism, are opposing Telangana Bill in a undemocratic fashion. They are scheming to defeat it in the Assembly by passing a resolution against it with their majority in the house. They were indulging in this kind of undemocratic opposition for the last four years after Telangana State Declaration in the Parliament in December 2009. But it was all outside the Assembly while the constitutional process, for T-State was not started yet.
Now it is different. After a four year long political deliberation the ruling UPA has considered and resolved for Telangana State. The NDA supported it. The union cabinet approved it. The constitutional process for the formation of Telangana state is initiated. President considered the Bill and sent it for the views of A.P. Assembly, as per article 3 of Indian Constitution.The Seemandhra legislators in continuation of their undemocratic behavior earlier, do not want to send their views but they want to stop Telangana state process by their unethical filibuster.
After failing to stop the aspiration of Telangana people outside the assembly, now Seemandhra leaders want to use Assembly for their anti-constitutional pranks.
1. They have called the Bill as unconstitutional and challenged it in the court of law to no avail.
2. They have tried to stop the initiation of discussion on the Bill, with disturbances inside the Assembly for several days.
3. They want to make amendment to every clause of Bill as ‘deleted’ and submitted in the form of an affidavit to the Speaker, President and Prime Minister.
4. They want to pass a resolution against the Bill with their majority and based on that they want to appeal in the court of law, again to stop the process.
5. Out of the 50 days’ time given discussion took place partially only on few days. They want to discuss every clause and vote on every one of it in the remaining few days’ time and request the president for another extension of time.
6. All the Seemandhra legislators spoken from Congress, TDP, YSR parties, have opposed the Bill, called the Bill unconstitutional and defective.
7. All the legislators from Telangana supported the Bill and wanted to send the views of the Assembly to the center. They opposed voting and passing the resolution against the Bill.
8. The CM spoke at convenient intervals with selective government data in a needlessly long winding and most part inaccurate speech. Just to say that Telangana was not discriminated and demand for Telangana state is not justified. He has said the the Bill is anti-constitutional and full of defects and Congress high command is committing a historical mistake in it. The opposition leader has suggested to the CM to ask for a resolution under rule 77 of the Assembly for returning the Bill on the grounds that it is not comprehensive. The CM has promptly considered it and given a notice to the speaker of Assembly and the chairman of the council to that effect.
9. They want to do every conceivable filibuster to block the Bill to go into Parliament before 2014 general elections.
The collective aim of all Seemandhra legislators from Congress, TDP and YSRP appears to be to defeat the Bill and keep Telangana under their political yoke forever. They want to bulldoze the issue with their political majority, with an undemocratic disdain for Indian Constitution, to the Central Government and the President of India. It is a case of ethnic chauvinism and majority political tyranny. They want to thwart the democratic struggle of minority Telangana for emancipation from their debilitating political, economic and cultural hegemony. There is no way out of it except the succor from Indian Constitution, the magnacarta of Indian Republic, in the form of Article3. After a struggle for 6 decades, an irreparable loss to a few generations of people, sacrifice of several hundred lives we have earned the consideration of Article 3 of Indian Constitution. It is the only hope for the people of Telangana to get back their political freedom, which was subordinated to Seemandhras arbitrarily by Congress Party in 1956.
The unremitting struggle by Telangana people and the political compulsions created there on have made the Congress party to initiate action under Article 3. It is a scrupulous opportunity and responsibility for Congress high command, which presides over the UPA government at the center now to rectify its historical blunder committed in 1956. But, ironically its own Seemandhra Congress is spearheading the campaign against its Telangana Bill, accusing its action as anti-constitutional and defective. A bizarre political ruckus is being created in the state and at the Centre to pip the T-bill to the post. This is severely undermining the authority and the credibility of Congress high command. Its own CM is challenging and opposing the Bill as the leader of the House. Calling it not comprehensive and proposing to return the Bill unceremoniously, at the instance of Opposition leader, is the height of the unscrupulous political conspiracy of Seemandhra majority.
Now after this,onerous and fateful struggle, it will not be the question of Telangana state alone. It will be the question of political tyranny of majority over the minority. If solutions are found based on the majoritization of democracy as demanded by Seemandhras, it will be a death knell to the spirit of democracy, which pre supposes to address the grievances of all in a society in an egalitarian manner. If we go by Seemandhra political thought that everything should be decided by a majority opinion in a state, what will happen to the liberation of Telangana from the political hegemony of Seemandhras? What would have happened to the rights of Andhra people from Madras state and the people of several other new states that were created after independence under the aegis of article 3?
Therefore article 3 is the only avenue available to the suffering minority against a domineering majority in an Indian State. The founding fathers of our constitution with their wisdom had designed it visualizing a situation like in Telangana.It is a testimony to their genius and foresight. Telangana is perhaps the most deserving case to get the benefit of Article 3.Unlike other new states created earlier, it was merged with Andhra forcibly and was subjected to brutal discrimination of Seemandhra majority, for 6 decades. The unscrupulous obscurantism of Seemandhras vindicates the divergence of Article 3 from majority concept.Now, in the present circumstances, the Article is the only succor for Telangana for its political liberation. The UPA and the Central government cannot allow the Seemandhra legislators, to get away with their anti-constitutional filibuster undermining Article 3 in A.P.Assembly to stop Telangana State Bill. Article 3 should be allowed in all its glory to come to the rescue of beleaguered Telangana.