they repeated the ruckus in the afternoon. They had disrupted the House for days together in the first half of the budget session.
The governments worry is that such disruptions will derail its plans of getting important legislation passed
. Observers felt that the action against ruling party members was also a signal to the Opposition to restrain its members.
Sonia, however, is understood to have also told the Prime Minister that the party can ill- afford to keep postponing the decision on Telangana and that the time has come to say ‘no’to the demand. Andhra Pradesh is crucial for the Congress as it sends the third highest ( 42) MPs to the Lok Sabha after Uttar Pradesh ( 80) and Maharashtra ( 48).
Overseas Minister Vayalar Ravi, who was dispatched to Hyderabad to study the ground realities, is understood to have given a report to Sonia that the Congress still has a chance to retain Andhra Pradesh, provided the State is not split. But Jagan Reddy, MP and son of late chief minister YSR Reddy, would surely sweep the election, if Telangana were created.
Even before Parliament resumed session on Tuesday after a 3- week recess, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ravi had a meeting with the eight MPs to persuade them not to disrupt the proceedings.
During the adjournment, PMO Minister V Narayanasamy also approached them in the Central Hall and warned that they would be suspended from the House. He was, however, rebuffed by the MPs, who told him to ‘go ahead’with the suspension. They further told him that they were desperate because the indecisiveness on Telangana will blank out their political future.
However, they were back on the front benches with placards, raising slogans in the post- lunch session when Goa MP Francisco Sardinha took the chair as the presiding officer. He repeatedly warned them before asking Bansal to pilot a motion for their suspension.
The Congress sources ruled out any crisis in the House because of suspension of the party MPs as no important business is listed this week and their suspension will be over on April 30. The discussion and voting on the crucial Finance Bill takes place only on May 7 and 8.
The suspended MPs put the entire blame on the indecisive Prime Minister for sitting tight on the popular demand to create a separate state of Telangana. He had not acted for 16 months even after getting a report of the 5- member Inquiry Commission, headed by retired Supreme Court Judge B N Srikrishna.
In its report submitted on December 30, 2010, the Commission had given six options to the government. The agitating MPs fear that their re- election is doomed from the way the agitation is shaping up with at least two youths committing suicide in the recent weeks.
