The bill to allow merging of 7 mandals of Telangana with Seemandhra under the guise of Polavaram power project was introduced in the Lok Sabha today amid din. It the first bill to be tabled in the House by the BJP-led government. Even as the TRS MPs protested vociferously against the bill which seeks to replace an ordinance promulgated in May by the Narendra Modi government, the BJP went ahead with the introduction of the bill. Yesterday, the bill was referred to the President for recommendation to be placed in the house. The President did the formal approval to withdraw the Ordinance and replace it with the bill. Today evening, the TRS MPs met and protested with the President that introducing the bill without following ...

As expected, the Polavaram Ordinance is challenged in Supreme Court on constitutional grounds. The PIL filed cited how the ordinance is unconstitutional as it seeks to alter the boundaries of states without Parliament’s role and seeked the court to strike it down. Only the Parliament through Article 3 of the constitution can alter boundaries of the state. Advocate R Chandrasekhar Reddy filed the PIL. He also filed another PIL asking for an immediate ‘stay’ on the ordinance.