As expected, the Andhra Pradesh state legislative assembly on Monday adopted a resolution abolishing the state legislative council, after a day-long discussion.
The resolution was adopted unanimously with 133 members voting in favour of it and nobody opposing the same. Of these 133, 132 belonged to the YSRC Congress party including chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
While Speaker Tammineni Sitaram cannot vote, another 19 members of YSRC were absent from the House for various reasons.
Lone Jana Sena Party MLA Rapaka Vara Prasad also supported the resolution, defying the party decision to oppose the same. The TDP members decided to abstain from discussion on the legislative council abolition.
Though the entire House had only YSRC members, besides Rapaka, there is actually no need for any division of vote. But since it is mandatory as per the rules, Speaker Tammineni Sitaram had to conduct the division for the sake of record to prove that two-thirds of the members of the House were supporting the resolution on abolition of the legislative council.
Jagan explained at length how the legislative council had become redundant and an obstacle for passing crucial bills of the government.
He pointed out how the TDP having majority in the council stalled his government’s two bills seeking to create three capitals on grounds of decentralising the administration in the council.
The TDP could get the bills to be referred to Select Committee. Jagan and his party MLAs lashed out at the Council, saying it had become a hindrance for development.
Jagan said the government is incurring Rs 60 crore expenditure every year on the Council. He said the poor state cannot afford it.
On getting passed in the Assembly, the Bill will be sent to the Union Home Ministry which in turn will have to introduce a bill in Parliament for passage. The entire exercise may take a year.
TDP leader in Legislative Council Y Ramakrishnudu said the Council abolition process would take more than two years’ time.
He said the Jagan government and the Assembly could only pass a resolution requesting the Centre to scrap.
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