Diggy says only views, no vote

New Delhi: AICC general secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Digvijay Singh on Thursday said on the Telangana Bill, the Assembly has to express its views. As such, it does not entail voting. He said the Bill has been sent to the Assembly not to be either passed or rejected, but only for purposes of its views.

He sought to draw a distinction between the expression of views and expression of an opinion. When an opinion has to be expressed, it is done through a vote. However, on the Bill, the Assembly is merely required to give its views, where voting is not necessitated.

The Bill is being debated in the Assembly and the Legislative Council, he said. The President has stipulated a timeframe of 40 days, which expires on January 23.

As such, Digvijay Singh hoped that the Assembly will return the Bill, after considering it, by January 23. This leaves the Centre with enough time to complete the other formalities and to bring the Bill in the next session of Parliament.

The Congress high command is confident that once the Assembly returns the Bill to President Pranab Mukherjee, he, in turn, will forward it to Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. In turn, Shinde will firm up the Bill, after incorporating any changes that may be warranted and take it to the Cabinet. Once the Cabinet clears it, then the Bill will be taken to Parliament and passed, during its session in February.