KCR as a true statesman par excellence! .....Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

KCR as a true statesman par excellence!

Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

Chief Minister and Leader of the House K Chandrashekhar Rao has once again exhibited his statesmanship qualities at the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting that was held on October 26 and on the first day of the Legislative Assembly session held the next day. This is, indeed, a rare quality among the contemporary political leadership in the country. He had virtually turned the tables on the Opposition on when he proposed for an unprecedented 50-day winter session of the Telangana State Legislature at the BAC when the Opposition wanted only 20 days of the session.

The brilliant move by the Chief Minister put the baffled Opposition on the back foot. However, the Opposition seems to have squandered this opportunity when they have resorted to the same old tactics to stall the proceedings on the first day of the Session. They tried to disrupt the proceedings, but the CM did not allow their plans and went ahead with the session.

At the BAC meeting, the CM had opted to take the democratic route rather than confronting the Opposition. He told the BAC that the Opposition members should utilize the floor of the House to air their views on various issues for which they need to be given adequate time. To all those who witnessed the CM speaking at the BAC, it was like KCR displaying another facet of his astuteness and political acumen and true democratic spirit both in letter and spirit.

The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee President N Uttam Kumar Reddy had recently demanded a minimum of 20-day session to facilitate debates on important issues concerning the people of the State. The Chief Minister went beyond the main Opposition’s demand and readily agreed to a 50-day session to discuss any and every issue. This is a move that the Opposition especially the Congress never expected even in their wildest dreams!

When the Opposition had come up with some 20 issues to be discussed on the floor of the House, the Chief Minister responding positively to their plea, made it clear that they were free to make any more additions to the list of issues as the very purpose of the session was to find a way forward on key issues involving the development of the State. The CM further said that the Government also wants to tell people at large through the House on various developmental and welfare activities that the government has been implementing.

The Chief Minister has asked the main Opposition if there was any meaning in holding Chalo Assembly programme when the government was more than willing to speak on any issue of their choice. He found fault with the Congress leaders’ assertion that they would go ahead with the programme even if it costs their lives, stating that such statements were uncalled for given the government’s open and democratic approach. But, the Opposition parties having scant respect for the parliamentary democracy have went ahead with their protests and resorted to interruption in the House on the very first day.

Except for the budget session, no government in the past had ever ventured to have a regular session extending beyond 40 days. The Parliament on rare occasions like when the then Union Minorities Minister AR Antulay made some controversial comments about the killing of Mumbai ATS Chief Hemant Karkare during the Mumbai Terror attacks and on the economic meltdown had held the longest sessions.

Back home, Telangana Chief Minister always believes in setting trends and fixing new benchmarks. For instance, at the same BAC meeting, the CM proposed, without the Opposition ever asking for it, to give more chance to the Opposition members and leaders to vent their views.

The Chief Minister scored yet another point against the Opposition when he favored taking up at least ten questions during the ‘Question Hour’ from 10 am to 11.30 am. The House will devote nine minutes for each question, he suggested. Any member will be allowed to raise supplementary instead of restricting the choice to the signatory members alone, and the discussion on the issue raised during the question hour should be closed after nine minutes allotted for it, Chandrashekhar Rao has suggested at the meeting.

“After the Question Hour, members should be given a chance to raise the local issues during the Zero Hour. After that let us have a new method of members submitting petitions. If the government is not able to give answers to the queries raised during the Question Hour, Zero Hour or any other occasion, it should provide with written answers to the members later. There should be elaborate discussions on the Bills. We are ready to incorporate changes in the Bills based on the good suggestions given by the members. And we have no qualms about it,” the CM said. The BAC also considered the Opposition plea for allowing discussion on issues of urgency that are moved by an adjournment motion. However, the issue of Adjournment Motions would be taken-up by the Speaker only after the Question hour and not before.

The CM wanted that the proceedings of the legislature should be held with dignity and the entire country should get this message. He said earlier the sessions used to be held for namesake and the ruling party used to conduct it like a mere formality. He said his government is ready to discuss any issue for any number of days.

The government is ready to discuss any matter in the House, at the same time if someone wants to create trouble it will act with sternness. Unfortunately, the Opposition has not been able to grab the opportunity provided by the CM and help conduct the Legislature sessions in a dignified manner with lot of decorum which would become a role model for others in the country to emulate.

The first day of the session began on a noisy note with Congress Party making desperate attempts to disrupt proceedings in both Houses. The attempts went in vain as both the Houses took up question Hour successfully and with CM participating in Assembly.  The disruptive methods adopted by Congress Members has been described by MIM Floor Leader Akbar Uddin Owaisi as” “it is not fair that a few members are trying to hold the House to ransom. The government should take action and facilitate other members to participate in the question hour”.