Record marathon debate in Telangana Assembly stretches past 3 am; nearly 16 hours

Hyderabad: July 29 would go down as a special day in Telangana Assembly history as it marked the first occasion when the day’s proceedings lasted nearly 16 hours.

The day-long marathon session began at 10 am on Monday and was adjourned around 3.15 am, the next day (early hours of Tuesday).

The majority of the members for the treasury and opposition benches were in attendance when speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar adjourned the session till 10 am, Tuesday, which meant members had just over six hours to return home, to have a quick sleep and rush back again to the Assembly. Monday was the first day of voting on Demands for Grants for 2024-25.

After the formation of Telangana, only on a few occasions did a day’s session go on continuously till the clock ticked the next day. As per Dr Raja Sadaram, the first secretary of Telangana Assembly, the longest session during his tenure in Telangana State did not go beyond 2 am. He felt there were only a handful of occasions when marathon debates past midnight were held in the Telangana Assembly.

It may be noted that Raja Sadaram worked as secretary of the Legislative Assembly for nearly eight years from 2009 (combined Andhra Pradesh State) till 2017 (Telangana State). He served in the State Legislature for more than 40 years.

Dr Sadaram recalled that marathon debates lasting 15 to 16 hours were witnessed in combined State even during NT Rama Rao’s tenure as the chief minister.

Coming to the record day, it was not held sans any break, however. A short tea break was given to members around 4:30 pm. Networking lunch and dinner were provided to the MLAs. It was a long day at the office for media personnel, who were, however, served only networking lunch.

Barring chief minister A Revanth Reddy, his Cabinet colleagues Mallu Bhatti Vikaramarka, D Sridhar Babu, Damodar Raja Narasimha, and Ponnam Prabhakar among others were present when the marathon session was adjourned. From BRS, former ministers T Harish Rao, KT Rama Rao, and G Jagadish Reddy among others stayed back while the house proceedings stretched well past midnight.

IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu, who also stayed back till the end of the marathon session, came back in time for the beginning of Tuesday’s proceedings as he introduced the Young India Skills University (Public-Private Partnership) Bill, 2024.