5:59 pm : DMK leader Kanimozhi says, Karunanidhi is in favour of consensus over Telangana. I am walking out of the House in protest.
5:54 pm: Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav: I oppose the Telangana Bill. This bill has created a division in the hearts of the people of Andhra Pradesh. even Pandit Nehru and Indira Gandhi were against bifurcation of big states, which they believed were the cementing force for India. This is an unconstitutional bill. It is an attack on the nation's federal structure.
5:50 pm: N K Singh (JD-U) : There are severe infirmities in this bill. This bill is a serious discrimination. We are all for a package for Seemandhra, but other states like Bihar which are similarly eligible, should not be ignored.
5:45 pm: CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury: Our party opposes bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. It is an irony that the the state which is created because of Potti Sriramulu who dreamt of Vishal Andhra, and died after sitting on fast and became the first victim of the demand for reorganisation of state on linguistic basis, is now being bifurcated. Today there is matchfixing between the Congress and BJP over Telangana. Sheer electoral opportunism is leading to division of the state. Send back this bill to the Lok Sabha by rejecting it. Prime Minister, pl understand the gravity of what you are doing today. You are doing a disservice to the nation. We do not want a Pandora's Box to be opened with Gorkhaland and other demands.
5:33 pm: Mayawati: Seemandhra must get special package, and Telangana should also get special package because it is a backward region. Please do not play politics over giving special packages. UP should also get special package. The wishes and aspirations of the people of Telangana will now be fulfilled. Pl set up a State Reorganisation commission to create more smaller states. Even Dr Ambedkar was in favour of smaller states.
