As the budget session of legislature from Monday will begin within three days of the conclusion of the campaign for Legislative Council elections, the ruling TRS and Opposition parties were expected to continue their charges and counter-charges that they left behind in the campaign.
The session will begin with the traditional address of Governor to both Houses of legislature followed by speeches on the condolence motion to mourn the death of MLAs, mainly Nomula Narasimhaiah of TRS, and motion of thanks to the Governor’s address in the subsequent days. The budget presentation was likely to be taken up on Thursday and then go into demands of various departments before winding up finally with the passage of Appropriation Bill well before March 31.
Sources said the budget session of Assembly and Council had given an opportunity to leaders of TRS and rival parties to come face to face on charges that they traded in election campaign incognito. Issues like employment, shelving of Information Technology Investment Region for Hyderabad, unemployment allowance, fuel price hike and farm laws enacted by Centre which were the focus of campaign will repeat themselves if the parties stuck to the challenges that they threw days earlier.
The Congress and BJP were expected to seek the stand of the government on its reported leak that it will offer a 29 per cent fitment to employees in pay scales. In this context, it was possible that the government will announce something on pay hike, they said.
The TRS will, however, harp on its development and welfare agenda, measures taken to check COVID 19 and success achieved in registration of properties by Dharani portal.
The Congress Legislature Party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said they will demand a resolution of the House seeking scrapping of farm laws enacted by Centre like it was done in other State ruled not only by Congress but other parties. The party will also highlight loss to farming community in Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda and Khammam on account of diversion of water upstream of Srisailam for Rayalaseema lift irrigation scheme taken up by AP government.
Perhaps, the most controversial issue that could draw flak from Opposition ranks was the claim of IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao during campaign that the government had created 1.32 lakh jobs. The Congress and BJP strongly objected to the claim and latter party even challenged Mr. Rao for a debate on Osmania University campus.
It will be interesting to watch out government’s position on farm laws after initially opposing them and later announcing that the farmers should be allowed freedom to sell their produce anywhere in the country in tune with the legislations. The government had also withdrawn paddy procurement centres in villages to more or less deregulate marketing of produce.
