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Business News/ News / India/  YSR Congress may check opposition to Andhra’s decentralization plan next week
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YSR Congress may check opposition to Andhra’s decentralization plan next week

The development comes a day after the council chairman sent two bills dealing with the capital's decentralization to a Select Committee, much to the displeasure to the ruling YSRCP

Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (MINT_PRINT)Premium
Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (MINT_PRINT)

The Andhra Pradesh assembly will decide next week whether to abolish the upper House of legislature, where the Opposition is in a majority, ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leaders said on Thursday.

The decision will be taken on 27 January, the final day of the assembly’s special winter session, they said.

The development comes a day after the council sent two bills dealing with plans to decentralize the state capital to a select committee, much to the annoyance to the YSRCP.

The Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is the single-largest party in the upper House with 27 members in the 58-member chamber. It has been busy stalling bills passed by the assembly, where the YSRCP has a massive 151 seats out of the total 175. The two decentralization bills were introduced in the council for discussion on Wednesday, after the assembly had passed it on Monday.

The upper House of a state can only be abolished if the Lower House passes a resolution to that effect by a majority of the assembly and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of members present and voting. It can take several months to implement.

The Capital Region Development Authority Repeal Bill 2020 and the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of all Regions Bill 2020, when passed by both Houses, will pave the way for the state government led by chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to decentralize the capital between Amaravati, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool.

“The SC/ST Corporation Bill, which was very important, was also stalled before this and the bill to introduce English medium in all government schools was also opposed and rejected in the council recently. It is politically motivated. The assembly is elected by the people. On Monday we will have one more day and we will take a decision (whether to scrap the legislative council or not)," said senior YSRCP leader and MLA G. Srikanth Reddy.

On Wednesday, YSRCP received a setback when Shariff Mohammed, chairman of the council, decided to send the two bills pertaining to the decentralization of the capital to a select committee, which will comprise legislators from the council, to look into the subject.

The bills can be deliberated upon for anything between one and three months, which means the YSRCP government will have to wait before it can reintroduce them in the assembly. However, once the bills are sent back to the assembly, if they are passed again they will be deemed to be cleared by the council even if its members reject it.

“We have used up all of our ammunition. As the bills have been sent to the select committee, YSRCP will have to wait for a few months. But Jagan Mohan Reddy doesn’t want to wait and he may even try to take the ordinance route, but that won’t be feasible. We have to wait and watch what happens now," said a senior TDP leader, who did not want to be quoted.

The state government plans to make Visakhapatnam the executive capital, Kurnool in Rayalaseema the judicial capital with the high court located there and Amaravati the legislative capital, housing the governor’s office and the Assembly.

Farmers in Amaravati region have been up in arms because the previous Andhra Pradesh government led by TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu had acquired 33,000 acres of farm land from hundreds of farmers for the development of Amaravati.

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Published: 23 Jan 2020, 09:02 PM IST
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