Jagan, Chandrababu Naidu both look to Modi on Council abolition issue

Hyderabad: Testing times await Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in the Budget Session of Parliament.

It remains to be seen whose stand on the AP Legislative Council will be backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Political circles are waiting with bated breath.

The AP Assembly passed a resolution on abolition of the Council and it was sent to Union home ministry for action.

The procedure is that the Union Cabinet has to approve the decision of AP government and then ask the Parliamentary affairs ministry to move it in both houses of Parliament. Once they approve the state government’s decision, it will be sent to the President, who has to issue a notification on the abolition of the Legislative Council.

Mr Reddy wants Parliament to approve his government’s decision at the earliest. He will bring pressure on all people concerned to approve the measure in the ongoing Budget Session.

Mr Naidu is determined to stall the decision. There are speculations that, if necessary, Mr Naidu might send about 15 TD MLCs to impress upon the BJP leadership not to approve the controversial decision. Sources said Mr Reddy has directed YSRC MPs to follow-up the issue and to see that the Union government will introduce the resolution in Parliament.

Meanwhile, the sources said that Centre may not introduce the resolution rightaway. It might do so in the second phase of the session, which will begin in March.

The AP Assembly Budget session will start in February. The AP Legislative Council also will meet to discuss on the AP Budget. If the Centre introduces the Bill in March, the AP Budget Session will be the last meeting of the Council.

Incidentally, since Mr Modi became the Prime Minister for a second time, Mr Reddy has met him on four separate occasions while Mr Naidu has not him even once.

According to political circles, Mr Modi has a soft corner for Mr Reddy. It is more so because his government may require the support of YSRC in the Rajya Sabha to pass crucial bills. The YSRC has 22 members in the Lok Sabha and two in the Rajya Sabha. The TD has 3 Lok Sabha members and two Rajya Sabha members.

A TD Rajya Sabha member will retire in April, the month in which YSRC will have four new members and its strength will go to six. The BJP requires outside support in the Rajya Sabha.

A senior political leader commented that comparatively speaking Mr Reddy is a more reliable friend and hence the Union government may back abolition of AP Legislative Council.