People's Democracy

Bifurcation Bill: Undemocratic Methods

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on February 19, 2014.

The Andhra Pradesh Bifurcation Bill has been adopted in the Lok Sabha in an undemocratic way violating all norms and procedures. 

The division of the first linguistically re-organised state in India is a vitally important issue.  But no debate took place on the Bill and it was adopted in the din by a “voice vote”.  The demand for a discussion made by some opposition parties was denied.

All this was done in collusion between the Congress and the BJP. As the major opposition party, even though it is in favour of bifurcation, it was the BJP’s elementary responsibility to demand that a proper debate take place on the Bill.  However, it chose to go along with the Congress party’s violation of all parliamentary norms.  The switching off of the live telecast of the proceedings in the House was a surreptitious move to prevent the people from seeing the undemocratic spectacle.

The way the UPA government has conducted itself in the matter poses a threat to democracy and the federal principle.