The Hindu : Front Page : Parliament clears Council Bill

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 21, 2005

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Front Page

Parliament clears Council Bill

Special Correspondent

Rajya Sabha too passes the Bill; Left parties, TDP oppose it

NEW DELHI: Parliament gave its consent to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council Bill seeking to revive the Upper House in the State with the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday approving it by 85-35 votes.

While the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal supported the revival proposal, the Left parties and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) opposed it.

The Bill provides for the 90-member Council. Local bodies and Legislative Assembly would elect 31members each with the State Governor nominating 12 members. The remaining would be elected from graduates and teachers constituencies.

Opposing the Bill, P. Madhu (CPI-M), himself from Andhra Pradesh, drew attention to the expenditure on the proposed Council, and felt it was meant to accommodate the politically unemployed.

On the other hand, Kripal Parmar from the main opposition party said Andhra Pradesh was a big state and the Council could accommodate unrepresented sections of society.

Alladi P Rajkumar (TDP) opposed the Bill as the Council would serve no purpose. This was indicated by the fact that only five states had bicameral legislatures.

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