Hyderabad: A bill moved by Congress MP KVP Ramachandra Rao seeking special category status to the reorganised state of Andhra Pradesh is expected to come up for voting in the Upper House on Friday.
The Congress high command, which is trying to revive the party from the moribund state in the reorganised State by repeatedly raising the special status issue, had issued a three-line whip asking all its 60 members in the 243-member Upper House to be present and vote for the bill.
Congress appears confident that the bill would be passed as the party is able to gather support from more than 100 members.
“We are confident that the Rajya Sabha will adopt the bill as majority members of the House are likely to back the bill.
We are also seeking the support of TDP and BJP and other parties in the NDA,” Congress veteran KVP Ramachandra Rao, who moved the bill, said.
Interestingly, the TDP also extended its support to the proposed legislation. Party MLA Bonda Uma Maheswara Rao said his party’s six MPs in the Rajya Sabha would vote for the bill, if it is put for voting.
On the other hand, KVP wrote a letter to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley urging him to back the bill.
“I request you to prevail upon your party leadership to ensure that all the members of the NDA will vote for the bill in order to accord special status to AP,” he urged the Union Minister in his letter.
On the other hand, Telangana minister KT Rama Rao, while interacting with reporters in Delhi, described the Congress party’s efforts to exert pressure on NDA government over special status issue by moving a private member bill as a “futile exercise.”
Rao also ruled out the possibility of his party supporting KVP’s private bill.
