The Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has been asked by the Congrss high command to "take things easy" on the Telangana bill issue.
Kiran was conspicuous by his absence when the Andhar Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2013 was introduced in the the State Assembly amid unruly scenes.
His absence in the House at such a crucial time raised many eyebrows in political circles.
But, the buzz in the Assembly lobbies was that the party high command had advised Kiran to "lay off" for a while and let the process of bifurcation be completed without any hurdles.
As per the "script and direction" by the central leadership, the Chief Minister stayed away from the Assembly proceedings citing health reasons.
The official reason given for his absence was that he was suffering from viral fever. However, the Congress sources said that he was asked by the Delhi bosses to keep himself away from the House when the bill was tabled.
Again when the House reassembled after a couple of noisy adjournments, the Deputy Speaker Mallu Bhattivikramarka was in the Chair instead of Speaker Nadendla Manohar.
Vikramarka and the Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu, both hailing from Telangana region, operated in tandem when the debate on the Telangana bill was initiated even as the House was in utter chaos and disorder.
Sridhar Babu requested the Chair to permit the debate on the bill and Vikramarka lost no time in inviting the Leader of the Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu to initiate the debate.
However, in the midst of noisy scenes, the House was adjourned for the day.
