BRS lawmakers to skip orientation programme

Hyderabad: While the government organised a two-day orientation programme for MLAs and MLCs to get acquainted with the Assembly rules and procedures from Wednesday, the Opposition BRS called for its boycott.

Following the ongoing tussle between ruling Congress and BRS on various issues in the recent Assembly session, the government decided to hold the orientation programme for the newly-elected MLAs (a majority are from the Congress) to counter the Opposition in debates as per the Assembly rules.

A programme on ‘Legislators: Their privileges, protocol and role in governance’ is being organised. Another session on ‘effective utilisation of question hour, zero hour, resolutions, adjournment motions, special mentions, matters of urgent public importance will be delivered by experts on the first day.

On the second day, there will be a talk on bills—introduction and strengthening of State legislature committees.

Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar, council chairman Gutta Sukhender Reddy, and Legislature secretary Dr V Narasimha Charyulu on Tuesday reviewed the arrangements for the orientation. The Speaker and council chairman advised the members of the Assembly and Council to attend the programme.

Meanwhile, the BRS has decided to boycott the orientation, party working president KT Rama Rao said. “The Speaker acted in a way that violated the rights of the BRS before the commencement of the Assembly a day before. On the first day, the police arrested us without allowing us to enter when we protested to highlight the government’s failures and public problems. The Speaker is adopting a delaying tactic by not taking a decision on the illegal defections of party MLAs. During the previous legislative sessions, he tried to scuttle the voice of the BRS MLAs, he said.