Seemandhra lawmakers tear, burn copies of Telangana bill

Tension prevailed in the Andhra assembly premises Monday when legislators from coastal Andhra and Rayalseema regions tore off and set fire to copies of the bill for formation of a separate Telangana state.

Soon after Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2013, was tabled in the house, legislators from Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions) opposing the state's bifurcation came out of the house and tore the copies of the bill at the media point.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader D Uma Maheswara Rao was the first to tear the papers while finding fault with the speaker's action in tabling the bill amid the pandemonium earlier in the morning.

The YSR Congress party's Seemandhra lawmakers after tearing the copies of the bill set them on fire, adding to tension at the media point. Police tried to prevent them but failed.

Legislators from the Telangana region cutting across party lines condemned the action of Seemandhra lawmakers.

Congress leader and government chief whip G Venkatramna Reddy said the actions of protesting legislators were highly objectionable.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader E Rajender said the action of Seemandhra leaders was an insult to people of Telangana and demanded their immediate apology.