Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker advocates mandatory 60-day sessions for better governance

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker Chintakayala Ayyanna Patrudu has strongly advocated making Assembly sessions mandatory for at least 60 days a year to ensure better governance.

Speaking at the inaugural session of a two-day national conference of parliamentary and legislative committees on “Empowerment of Women” here on Sunday, he noted that some States conduct their sessions for just 30–35 days annually. He suggested to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, seated beside him, to issue guidelines to standardise the number of sittings.

Mr. Patrudu also raised concerns over the way some elected representatives skip parliamentary and legislative sessions at will. “When we have a ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy for employees, why should parliamentarians and legislators receive salaries for periods of absence?” he questioned.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the event, he added that a significant number of absentees in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly were 11 YSRCP MLAs, including the party leader.

Hails NTR

Mr. Patrudu praised actor-turned-politician N.T. Rama Rao, founder of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), for introducing women’s empowerment policies well ahead of others. “It was because of our former Chief Minister that women gained the right to ancestral property. He also established Sri Padmavati Mahila Viswa Vidyalayam (SPMVV), an all-women university in Tirupati, in the early 1980s to promote women’s higher education and empowerment,” he said.

He also recited the lyrics ‘Lechindhi Mahila Lokam, Daddarillindhi Purusha Prapancham’ (‘Here rises the women’s world, and the male world is alarmed’) from the 1962 film Gundamma Katha, in which N.T. Rama Rao acted.

Mr. Patrudu further lauded Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu for strengthening the Self Help Group (SHG) movement, which provided economic independence to women, particularly in rural areas.

Women-led development

Daggubati Purandeswari, chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Women’s Empowerment, noted that the nation is witnessing a shift from women’s development to women-led development.

“Having more women at policymaking levels gives average citizens a sense of security and care,” she observed.