VIJAYAWADA: Despite challenges since the very first day of his election as the Assembly Speaker with the YSRC and the TDP arguing over the process of selecting his candidature for the post, seasoned politician Tammineni Sitaram, a six-time MLA and former minister, has largely succeeded in putting things in the House under control.
“Despite being well aware of the traditions of the House, it has always been a challenging task to fulfil duties of the Speaker. However, my experience as a member of the House and minister comes in handy for me while handling a situation. And on this very particular day (the concluding day of the Budget session), I am delighted to have witnessed the passage of several historic Bills after proper discussions. These Bills were intended to uplift the social and economic conditions of BCs, SCs, STs, minorities and youths,” Tammineni said. As many as 19 Bills were passed by the House.
Speaking to TNIE after adjourning the Assembly sine die, Tammineni felt that he had never witnessed the passage of bills intended to benefit a cross section of people like this on earlier occasions. “In fact, all the Bills were passed only after thorough discussions on them. The leader of the House, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, was in favour of extending the session for the sake of debates.”
Maintaining that he had no issues with the leader of the opposition and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu, Tammineni said he gave equal opportunity to the members of the opposition as they play a vital role in the House. When asked about the suspension of TDP MLAs, he said he felt disappointed.
“But I have to take such action for the smooth conduct of the proceedings in the House. I gave enough opportunities to the Opposition members and appeal to them to voice their opinion if they are not satisfied with the government’s reply over an issue. However, a tussle emerges when the opposition members stick to their argument and repeatedly insist to be allowed to speak,” the Speaker said.