Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly will meet for three days from Friday to enact a legislation on the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Special Component Plans. Though originally the government planned to hold the session for two days, the Business Advisory Committee of the Assembly, that met here on Thursday under the chairmanship of Speaker Nadendla Manohar, decided to extend the duration by one day to enable members study the proposed legislation before taking part in the debate. The winter session of the Legislature will convene again from December 10 to 21 after a week-long break.
Opposition parties wanted the government to table the report of the Cabinet Sub Committee that studied the implementation of the Special Component Plans, but the ruling party rejected the plea. It even refused to circulate the draft of the proposed legislation ahead of the session for members' perusal. Majlis-e Ittehadul Muslimeen floor-leader Akbaruddin Owaisi raised these demands and all other opposition parties supported him.
Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and his deputy skipped the BAC meet as also the Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu, who is on a foot march in Nizamabad district. Opposition parties sought to know from the government the recommendations made by the Cabinet Sub-Committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister C Damodar Rajanarasimha on the implementation of the Special Component Plans and what the proposed legislation, to give legal safeguards to the plans, contained.
Opposition parties apprehended that the government was not implementing the sub-committee recommendations in full and the proposed legislation would only be a "watered down" version. "How can we debate on such a critical subject without going through either the sub-committee recommendations or the draft Bill," Owaisi reportedly questioned at the BAC meeting. Telugu Desam Legislature Party deputy leader Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu, CPM leader Julakanti Ranga Reddy, YSR Congress leader B Sobha Nagi Reddy supported Owaisi's contention and wanted the sub-committee recommendations tabled in the House.
Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu, however, rejected the opposition plea and said the Bill would be tabled in the House on Friday. It was then decided that full-length discussion on the SC and ST Special Component Plans would be taken up on Saturday and Sunday before the law was enacted. Meanwhile, the AP Legislative Council will sit only for a day on Friday and adjourn for the winter session from December 10.
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