The Budget Session of Telangana legislature was held for only seven days —for a second year in a row — to pass the state budget for 2023-24, with the opposition referring it as the shortest-ever for any state.
The Budget Session that began on February 3 with the governor’s address to the joint meeting of the state assembly and council, concluded on February 12 with the passage of the appropriation bill after the concluding speech by chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao.
Both Houses did not meet on February 5 and 7. According to the bulletin issued by state legislature secretary V Narasimhacharyulu, the assembly sat for 56 hours and 25 minutes, including the question hour and discussions on grants for various departments, over seven days.
“This is the shortest budget session of any state assembly that I have ever come across. The ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi sought to bulldoze everything with its brute majority by avoiding discussions on major issues of public concern and finish it off within a week,” Congress Legislature Party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka told HT.
In the past, the Budget Session was held for at least 29-30 working days, he said. “The first day used to be dedicated for the Governor’s address, followed by discussion on motion of thanks for the same for two days. While one day would be for the presentation of the state budget, which would be followed by four to five days for discussion on the same,” Vikramarka said. “There would be discussion on demands for grants for various departments for about 18 days, followed by a day-long discussion on the appropriation bill.”
Besides these mandatory discussions, the assembly used to have short discussions on important issues and also on emergency issues under Rule 304 of the assembly procedures, he pointed out.
“But during the BRS government, no such discussions have been taking place. The budget passage has become a routine affair with the ruling party leaders dominating the procedures without giving any scope for the opposition to raise issues of public importance,” he alleged.
In the Business Advisory Council meeting held on February 7, the Congress pitched for at least a 25-day session. “We argued that there were several important issues that needed to be discussed, but the ruling BRS had its way to close the session within seven days,” he regretted.
Former minister and Congress MLC T Jeevan Reddy wondered if the discussion was on the state budget or the Union Budget, as BRS leaders dedicated their time to attack the Narendra Modi government, rather than explaining the revenue and expenditure of the state. “Perhaps no other state has such a short assembly session,” he said.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen wanted the session for at least 20 days. AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi said question hour was dispensed with too often. “No discussions were held on any issues in any form,” Owaisi wrote to speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy.
The last year’s budget session, too, was held for only seven days — between March 7 and 15, but for a couple of hours more than the just concluded session because there was no Governor’s address and hence, no discussion on the Motion of Thanks.
As per the assembly records, the state legislature had met only 69 days till now, during the second stint of the BRS government.
State legislative affairs minister Vemula Prashant Reddy could not be reached for his comment on the shortest-ever budget session of the assembly.
