The YS Jaganmohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh that suffered a setback when the state legislative council vetoed its plans for three separate capitals last week retaliated by moving to have the council itself abolished.
The state Cabinet has approved to abolish the Legislative Council. Chaired by the CM, the cabinet passed a resolution to abolish the upper house. The resolution will be tabled in the Assembly where YSR government exercises clear majority. The main opposition party, the Telugu Desam (TDP) had a majority in the upper house and was thus able to send the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020 and the AP Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) Act (Repeal) Bill to the select committee.
The Chief Minister had already hinted at the dissolution on Thursday. He had said that a lot of state budget money could go to waste if the council continued to block the bills passed by the assembly.
In 1985, two years after he took over as Andhra Pradesh chief minister, film star turned politician NT Rama Rao had used his party’s brute majority in the state assembly to have the council abolished after continuous tussles between the assembly and the council, which then was dominated by the Congress. In 2007, the council was revived by Rao’s son in law and TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu.
— India Legal Bureau