HYDERABAD: The 17-day-long winter session of the Assembly, which began on a positive note, coinciding with its golden jubilee celebrations, ended amid bitter accusations with the Congress and TDP blaming each other for wasting the time of the House. The Left and Telangana Rashtra Samithi held the ruling party and TDP responsible for failure to discuss important issues.

Slogans raised

Earlier, the Assembly adjourned sine die amid bedlam as placard-waving members of the Telugu Desam and TRS staged a sit-in on either side of the Speaker's podium and raised slogans. Amidst the uproar, two bills, including one on the AP Special Economic Zone, were passed without discussion.

While TDP members stormed the well on the issue of scholarships to Backward Class students, TRS legislators held aloft placards seeking action against relatives of a national BJP leader for alleged evasion of sales tax.

Earlier, the Chair was forced to adjourn the House twice after TDP members squatted on the steps leading to the podium demanding an opportunity to raise supplementaries to their listed question on BC scholarships. This was preceded by a walkout by the BJP to protest against "neglect" of BC students by the Government.

Fresh applications

Replying to the main question, Minister for Rural Development D. Srinivas told G. Kishan Reddy (BJP) and others that 1.92 lakh applications were received and all were sanctioned. As many as 3.78 lakh fresh applications were being processed. The mess charges for BC hostel boarders were proposed to be increased by 25 per cent from next academic year.

He said proposals for additional budgetary allocation in the context of reservations for Muslims had been received by the Government.

They would be considered when the appeal pending in the Supreme Court was disposed of. A proposal to reimburse the fee to students who are taking self-financing courses in universities and Government colleges was under examination.

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