Pepper Spray in Parliament

An expelled Congress member resorted to firing pepper spray against those demanding the division of Andhra Pradesh

In what seemed to be final confirmation that the UPA Government has lost the ability to persuade Members of Parliament that their way was likely to be the prevailing way, the Opposition and even some of the UPA’s own members have declared that they will not play ball with the Government on its plans to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh and create a separate state of Telangana.

Rowdy protests inside Parliament and the ‘tabling’ of the bill in the Lok Sabha on Thursday virtually closed the window of negotiations with those inclined to back the bill and parties resisting the formation of Telangana.

An expelled Congress member resorted to firing pepper spray against those demanding the division of Andhra Pradesh, his colleague from the Telugu Desam Party brandished a knife, and a votary of United Andhra popped a pill—all on the floor of Parliament—demonstrating the sharp divisions in the state’s political landscape over Telangana and the difficulties in making any political capital over the issue.

The UPA’s constituents acknowledged that the way the issue was handled was a big manifestation of the Government’s ad-hocism and rudderless approach to decision making.

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