YSRCP, TDP likely to lock horns in Andhra budget session starting Tuesday
Jun 16, 2020
By Pramod Chaturvedi
Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], June 16 : The budget session of Andhra Pradesh Assembly will start from Tuesday and several precautions have been taken in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
Opposition TDP is likely to raise several issues in the House including the arrest of its senior leaders recently.
The budget session was to be held in February but was postponed due to COVID-19 outbreak.
The state government is thinking to confine the session to two days though no official announcement has been made. The government says it is not safe to hold the session for a long time in view of the situation created by COVID-19.
The seats in the assembly and council have been sanitised and arrangements have been made for medical test of all members.
The Governor will not directly address the joint session and will give his remarks through video conferencing.
The members have been asked to bring the minimum staff. Visitors are not being allowed. MLAs or MLCs above 60 have the option not to attend the session.
There is political heat ahead of the session as two senior leaders of opposition TDP were arrested recently on allegations of corruption including K Atchennaidu, deputy floor leader of the party in the Assembly. TDP is likely to raise the issue vociferously.
The session will be held after completion of one year rule of YSRCP. TDP, which has been calling the year as "year of destruction" and calling YS Jagan Mohan Reddy as a "failed" Chief Minister wants to make its point on the floor of the House.
The TDP may also raise Visakhapatnam gas leakage incident. The opposition has been alleging that the ruling YSRC party is trying to save LG Polymers.
The ruling YSRCP will emphasise the past year as that of success and has said it has started implementing welfare schemes that it had promised in its election manifesto. YSRCP believes that people are satisfied with its rule.
The real test is for Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath. The state exchequer is apparently not in good shape while the Chief Minister is announcing more welfare schemes. With revenue generation affected due to the situation created by COVID-19, there is little way to boost financial resources of the government.
More than 86 per cent members in the assembly belong to YSRCP. However, its floor management in the previous session did not seem up to mark with TDP managing to stop some key bills as it has more number of MLCs.
