VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Monday passed the AP Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill 2020 by voice vote after the Opposition Telugu Desam staged a walk out from the House protesting against the refusal of the Chair to allow discussion on it. The passage of the bill was halted earlier in the Legislative Council, where the Opposition TDP has numbers in its favour. The bill was passed in the same format as it was introduced earlier.
The bill paves the way to check electoral malpractices, including money power, and reduce the election process by expediting the schedule. The provisions of the bill allow action to be taken even after the election results are announced. Panchayat Raj Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy tabled the bill in the House. When he started explaining its salient features, TDP members rose to their feet and demanded a debate on the bill stating that there are many controversial provisions in it.
Intervening in the matter, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said the bill was earlier passed by the House and sent to the Council, which returned it with some amendments. “The bill is being tabled in the House for the second time and it is just a formality to get it passed. There is no reason to make it an issue by the Opposition,’’ the Chief Minister said.
There is no scope for negating the bill again. What was decided by this House by the majority of 151 members will prevail and the same bill in its original form is before the House for consideration and its passage is just a formality. The Opposition is acting as if the bill has been introduced for the first time, Jagan said.
The TDP MLAs stuck to their demand for a detailed discussion on the bill and strongly objected to the ruling YSRC’s stand that discussion was already completed on it in the last session of Assembly.
Assembly Speaker Tammineni Sitaram made it clear that there was no need for a debate once again on the bill. Protesting against the decision of the Chair, the TDP members walked out of the Assembly after which the bill was passed by voice vote. The bill will be sent to the Council, where it has to be passed mandatorily.
Fish feed, gaming bills introduced in Assembly
Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Seediri Appalaraju introduced the Andhra Pradesh Fish Feed Bill in the State Legislative Assembly on Monday. Besides introducing the AP Fish Feed (Quality Control) Bill 2020, he also tabled the AP Aquaculture Seed (Quality Control) (Amendment) Bill 2020, AP Fisheries University Bill, 2020 and AP Animal Feed (Regulation of Manufacture, Quality Control, Sale and Distribution) Bill 2020. Home Minister M Sucharita tabled the AP Gaming (Amendment) Bill 2020, while Minister for Municipal Administration Botcha Satyanarayana introduced the AP Municipal Laws (Second Amendment) Bill 2020.