The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Congress, TDP trade charges, Left blames both

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 30, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Congress, TDP trade charges, Left blames both

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, MARCH 29. The Congress and the Telugu Desam blamed each other for disruption of the Assembly proceedings and guillotining of budget demands without discussion while the CPI(M) and the CPI held both ruling and Opposition parties responsible.

Addressing a press conference, the Finance Minister, K. Rosaiah, accused the TDP of failing to highlight public issues and squandering Assembly time on non- issues. All it did was to impose its own agenda on the House and expect the Government to oblige as it happened on Tuesday.

"It is highly undemocratic". No surprise that the TDP had wasted 22 hours of

proceedings against five minutes by the Congress.

Unprecedented: Rosaiah

He said the Government was not happy with the guillotining of the demands and blamed the TDP's tactics of stalling the proceedings for it. The TDP was coming up with adjournment motions almost daily. He appealed to the TDP to go through the proceedings between 1958 and 1978 and study the type of issues taken up through adjournment motions.

There was no precedent of the same issue being brought to the House again and again and reminded the TDP that irrigation tenders were discussed for 18 hours earlier.

On the other hand, the TDLP deputy leader, Y. Ramakrishnudu, accused the Government of running away from the debate on irrigation tenders and Excise policy.

"It got scared of being exposed and left no stone unturned to dodge and block the discussion.

It has failed to respond to the public issues highlighted by the Opposition and behaved irresponsibly."

Mr. Ramakrishnudu said in terms of number of hours, the budget session this time was the lowest in five years.

A new low: Yanamala

The House sat for 163 hours in 2005, 180 hours in 2004, 205 hours in 2003, 202 hours in 2002 and 212 hours in 2001.

He charged the Chief Minister, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, and other Ministers with "directing" the Chair.

The CPI(M) leader, N. Narasimhaiah, said both Government and TDP showed "a stubborn attitude" refusing to budge from their known stands.

The party's mediation to resolve the row today over debate on irrigation tenders failed because of this attitude. Chada Venkat Reddy (CPI) said while the Opposition kept pressing its own agenda, the Government seemed least bothered. It was unfortunate that the budget demands had to be passed in a "mechanical" manner.

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