In an move that has surprised many, the live telecast of Parliament proceedings was blacked out, as the process of passing the controversial Telangana Bill began in Lok Sabha.
It has been made official that Lok Sabha has passed Telangana Bill amid commotion to bifurcate Andra Pradesh and create a new state called 'Telangana'.
The bill was passed unanimously with the support of the opposition BJP. The party, however, says that it was not aware of the TV blackout.
As the process began, all cameras were switched off inside the Lok Sabha. Entrances to the visitors' gallery were also shut.
While suspended MPs from Andhra tried to enter Lok Sabha shouting slogans, they were stopped by Marshals, reports suggest.
Meanwhile, live TV footages show that celebration have already begun in Hyderabad.
The Lok Sabha television transmission was stopped at 3.03 pm. NDTV has reported citing unnamed sources that the Speaker decided to stop telecast to avoid a repeat of last Thursday's pepper spray incident.
The channel has quoted a TDP MP as saying, "It is daylight murder...the murder of democracy. The Speaker is acting as an agent of the Congress. More than 50 percent of the house is at the Well. They should have suspended the entire house and passed the bill".
While lawmakers such as K Chandasekhar Rao and Ghulam Nabi Azad were seen celebrating, YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy called for a shutdown in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday. "It is a black day in the history of India. We saw democracy being killed in broad daylight. The issue was taken up undemocratically against the will of the people of Andhra," Reddy, who was suspended earlier, was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying.
Meanwhile, a presence of heavy security is also reported in Vijayawada as protests and demonstrations are feared. Trinamool Congress has reacted angrily to the manner in which the Lok Sabha proceedings were being conducted.
