Sonia asks Kamal Nath to secure BJP’s support for T bill in winter session!

Following feedback from two separate sources on the delay in drafting the bill on Telangana, Gandhi has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to put the GoM on the fast track.

Dr Singh has been asked by the United Progressive Alliance chairperson to hold three to four meetings in a week to complete the task of drafting the bill.

Gandhi reportedly was visibly angry when she was told that the ministers in the GoM are not ready to stick their necks out while drafting the bill.

In a meeting of the Congress core group on Friday, Gandhi also directed Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath to secure the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party in passing the bill in the winter session of Parliament.

To pass the Telangana bill — a Constitution Amendment Bill which will require the support of two-third of the members in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha — the Congress will need the BJP’s help.

Though the main opposition party has publicly supported the formation of Telangana, the Congress is apprehensive about the BJP raking up other issues to corner the government and delay the passage of the bill.

Nath is planning to hold a meeting with top leaders of the BJP to come to an agreement about the Telangana bill.