Keeping aside decades old legislative practices, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who claims to be giving a `people’s governance’ gets appointed Seriliingampally MLA Arikapudi Gandhi as chairman of the key Public Accounts Committee (PAC). He has floated the age-old practice of giving this post to the nominee of the main opposition in the state assembly.
Gandhi, who was elected as BRS MLA has defected to Congress and against his petition under Anti Defection Act is pending with the Assembly speaker. The main opposition BRS is accusing the Congress party of murdering democracy as a witness of the assembly and appointing Arikepudi Gandhi as the PAC chairman without paying attention to the traditions, manners and rules of the assembly like never before.
The State Legislature has three committees dealing with financial matters. Chief among these is the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The Legislature elects nine members to it. According to the strength of the parties, seats are allotted in PAC. The post of chairman is given to the main opposition. It is within the rules of the legislature.
However, the post of PAC chairman was given to the opposition MLA who joined the ruling party for the first time to damage the rules of the legislature and the spirit of the parliamentary system. This is probably the first time in the country.
Even in the event that the Congress party did not get the status of opposition in the Parliament, the post of PAC chairman was given to the nominee of that party who was identified as the largest opposition party. But in Telangana, the post of PAC chairman has been given to a defector MLA who joined the ruling party and not a person recommended by the main opposition party and nominated by the party, who has the status of opposition.
In the 119-member Legislative Assembly, three MLAs from the BRS party should get a chance in the PAC. The BRS party will decide who those three MLAs will be. Accordingly, BRS party president and opposition leader KCR has nominated former ministers T Harish Rao, Gangula Kamalakar and Vemula Prashanth Reddy for PAC.
While nine people are to be elected to the PAC, if more nominations are received, the Speaker has to conduct an election. If Arikepudi Gandhi had really filed a nomination, if there were ten nominations for nine seats, then the question arises as when the election was held?
Former minister Harish Rao was angry that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was holding the constitution book in his hand and saying that the constitution was being violated and democracy was being killed. But in Telangana in his own party’s government, he said that instead of giving the post of PAC chairman to the opposition, taking the Congress party is murdering democracy.