Study AP Budget closely, share insights, CM Naidu tells first-time MLAs, MLCs

Amaravati: Stating that the MLAs should have awareness of the Budget Session of the State Legislature, chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, who is the leader of the House, told the MLAs and MLCs to share their views with their colleagues on the floor of the House during the session.

Chandrababu Naidu told the MLAs and MLCs to study in detail all the bills being brought in and the policies being adopted by the State Government.

‘MLAs to be made partners in public governance’

Addressing a workshop chaired by the Assembly speaker, Chintakayala Ayyannapatrudu, organised for the MLAs who have entered the House for the first time, the chief minister said that the MLAs too will be made partners in public governance.

“Since people have reposed immense faith and have a lot of hopes for all of us, we should stand by them and discuss in detail on the floor of the House the problems being faced by them. The House should be a platform for meaningful debates,” Chandrababu told the legislators.

Recalling that he got elected to the Assembly for the first time in 1978 and became a minister in 1980, Chandrababu said that he got elected to the House for nine consecutive terms and became the chief minister for four terms.

The poll coalition brought many new faces to the Assembly

“The success in a row depends totally on our performance and the structure of the party. In the recent elections, the TDP, the Jana Sena and the BJP contested together and many new faces have entered the Assembly, including 61 from the TDP, 15 from the Jana Sena, four each from the BJP and the YSRCP. At least 30 MLAs got elected to the House for the second term,” Naidu said.

Referring to the time when only All India Radio and Doordarshan used to cover the Assembly proceedings, Chandrababu Naidu said that now the technology has developed so fast that the proceedings are being telecast live on all the news channels along with social media. Those who got elected as MLAs form public policies in the House which bring radical changes in public life, he remarked.

‘Discuss constructive topics in Assembly’

Mentioning that some MLAs have earlier been asked to visit certain foreign countries to study the growth rate of that particular country, the chief minister stated that the policies adopted by the ruling dispensation should find permanent solutions to all public issues.

“Once we used to discuss at length several issues on the floor of the House but now the MLAs are, somehow, losing interest to learn the relevant subjects which is not healthy,” the chief minister felt.

Naidu advised the MLAs to try to get themselves updated on all the subjects and cautioned them that he will continuously monitor the subjects that the MLAs are learning and the issues on which they are focussing.

“Unless you have a proper understanding of the subjects and various departments, how will you know the needs of your respective Assembly segments?” he asked.

Emphasising the need for every MLA to have a detailed understanding of the Budget session, CM Chandrababu Naidu said that the budget speeches of the then chief minister, the late NT Rama Rao, and the legend, Sundaraiah, are now available in the shape of books. The Union Government too is holding training programmes for MPs, the chief minister said, adding that the views shared by the MLAs will be useful for the State Government in making decisions.

Be answerable to public, says CM Naidu

Study how the Centre is allocating funds in the budget which will be useful for the MLAs, the chief minister said and felt that if they are keen on learning the subject anything is possible for them.

“You all should stand as examples to the future generations. Do not take things easy as there is no Opposition in the Assembly. The party that is in the Opposition is not feeling any responsibility. But let us function as answerable leaders to the people,” the chief minister said.

The State Assembly is a platform to explain to the people what the Government has done for them, he said and stated that the people always monitor what their MLA is doing for them and how their MLA is presenting their problems.

“People will never accept if we use objectionable language and that is what has happened in the past five years,” he remarked.

Welcoming their suggestions on Vision-2047, the chief minister made it clear that the Assembly and the Council should be the platforms for fruitful debates and discussions besides finding solutions to the problems.