Telangana Bill sent to President

Pranab will see it only after he returns to Delhi on Monday

New Delhi: A day after the Union Cabinet cleared the Telangana Bill, the Union Home Ministry on Friday forwarded the Telangana Bill to President Pranab Mukherjee.

Mukherjee is at present on a tour of West Bengal. It is likely that he will see the Telangana Bill only after his return on Monday. Going by the earlier practice, he may take a day or two to study the Bill, before sending it to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly for its comments. Since the Andhra Pradesh Assembly has been convened from December 12, the Telangana Bill is expected to reach it in time. The President will prescribe a timeframe for the Assembly for considering the Bill and sending it back. The timeline for the Centre to bring the Telangana Bill will depend entirely on the timeframe to be prescribed by the President for the AP Assembly. When the Bill is returned, it will once again go to the Union Cabinet, before it is tabled in Parliament. Since the Winter Session is the last session for this Parliament to conduct legislative business, the Centre is keen on bringing the T Bill to Parliament in the ongoing session. Even if it is not possible before December 20, the governm ent may take a break of one week for Christmas and resume the sittings of Parliament to enable the passing of Telangana Bill.