Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council

Legislative Council of Andhra Pradesh
6th Assembly
Type
Type
Leadership
Chairman
Dr. A. Chakrapani, INC
since 3 April 2007
Deputy Chairman
Singareddy Venkata Satish Kumar Reddy, TDP
Seats 50
Meeting place
The Andhra Pradesh State Legislature
Website
http://www.aplegislature.org/legislative-council

The Legislative Council of Andhra Pradesh (or the Andhra Pradesh Vidhan Parishad) is the upper house of the legislature of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh; the lower house being the Andhra Pradesh Vidhan Sabha. It is situated in the state capital of Hyderabad, and is constituted of 90 members. The Vidhan Parishad has been in existence in two spells - from 1958 to 1985, and from 2007 till date.

History

In the first years since its creation in post-independence India, the state of Andhra Pradesh worked under a unicameral parliamentary system. On December 5, 1956 the Andhra Pradesh Vidhana Sabha passed a resolution calling for the creation of an upper house, the Vidhan Parishad, to transition to a bicameral system.[1] The Vidhan Parishad was formed officially on July 1, 1958 under article 168 of the Constitution of India. The first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad inaugurated the Vidhan Parishad on July 8.[1]

Abolition

In the 1980s, Andhra Pradesh became one of the first states to seek the abolition of the upper houses, which were being increasingly criticised as being unnecessary, unrepresentative of the population, a burden on the state budget and causing delays in passing legislation.[1][2][3][4] However, the move was criticised as an attempt by the then-ruling party, the Telegu Desam Party (TDP), to deny their main political opposition, the Indian National Congress (then Congress (I)) of influence in the state government and the control of the upper house, which could delay TDP-sponsored legislation and where the TDP held no seats.[4] In accordance with a resolution passed by the Andhra Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, the Indian Parliament abolished the Vidhan Parishad through the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council (Abolition) Act in 1985, after the Congress (I) suffered a major defeat in the state elections in Andhra Pradesh.[1][4]

Revival

Subsequent attempts were made to revive the Legislative Council under Chief Minister Dr. Marri Chenna Reddy, who belonged to the Congress (I), which had won the state elections in 1989.[1][4] A resolution to revive the Legislative Council was passed in the Vidhan Sabha on January 22, 1990.[1] The Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament, passed legislation authorising the revival of the Legislative Council as per the resolution of the state Vidhan Sabha on May 28, 1990, but the legislation stalled in the lower house, the Lok Sabha, primarily due to its dissolution in 1991 before the completion of its five-year term.[1] The subsequent Lok Sabhas (1991–1996, 1996–1998, 1998–2004) did not take any further action.

After its victory in the 2004 state elections, the Congress-led Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed another resolution on July 8, 2004 calling for the revival of the Legislative Council.[1] This time it was introduced in the Lok Sabha as the Andhra Pradesh Council Bill on December 16, 2004. On December 15, 2006 the Lok Sabha passed the legislation, which was quickly passed by the Rajya Sabha on December 20, and received the assent of the President on January 10, 2007.[1] The newly revived Legislative Council was constituted on March 30, 2007 and inaugurated on April 2 by Rameshwar Thakur, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh.[1]

Membership and tenure

The Legislative Council is a permanent house, not subject to dissolution.[1] Its 90 members serve six-year terms, and every two years, one-third of the total number of members "retire" in rotation, and undergo the re-election process.[1] To become a member, the individual must be a citizen of India and at least 30 years of age. 12 members of the Council are nominated by the Governor of Andhra Pradesh. 62 members are elected by an electoral college of the Legislative Assembly and local governing bodies. The 16 remaining members would be elected from constituencies of college graduates and teachers.[5]

Elected by the Legislative Assembly members

# Member Political Party
1K.R. AmosIndian National Congress
2Kolagatla Veerabhadra SwamyIndian National Congress
3Mohammed Ali ShabbirIndian National Congress
4Kompally Yadava ReddyIndian National Congress
5V. Gangadhar GoudTelugu Desam Party
6B. Changal RayuduIndian National Congress
7T. Santosh KumarIndian National Congress
8Angoori Lakshmi Siva KumariIndian National Congress
9Gundumala ThippeIndian National Congress
10Nagapuri RajalingamIndian National Congress
11Rudraraju Padma RajuIndian National Congress
12Paladugu Venkata RaoIndian National Congress
13D. SrinivasIndian National Congress
14P. SamanthakamaniTelugu Desam Party
15M. Ranga ReddyIndian National Congress
16Ponguleti Sudhakar ReddyIndian National Congress
17Balasani LakshminarayanaTelugu Desam Party
18C. RamachandraiahIndian National Congress
19Mohammed SaleemTelugu Desam Party
20Bodakanti VenkateshwaruluTelugu Desam Party
21S.V. Satish Kumar ReddyTelugu Desam Party
22Mohammed JaniIndian National Congress
23Nannapaneni RajakumariTelugu Desam Party
24Yanamala RamakrishnuduTelugu Desam Party
25Peer Shabbir AhmedIndian National Congress
26Mohammed Mahmood AliTelangana Rashtra Samiti
27P.J. Chandrasekhara RaoCommunist Party of India
28Singham Basava PunnaiahIndian National Congress
29Adireddy Appa RaoYSR Congress Party
30Syed Altaf Hyder RazviAll India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen
31M. Sudhakar BabuIndian National Congress

Elected from Graduates' constituencies

# Constituency Member Political Party
1GraduatesM.V.S. SarmaIndependent
2GraduatesKalidindi Ravikiran VarmaIndependent
3GraduatesBoddu Nageswara RaoIndependent
4GraduatesYandapalli Srinivasulu ReddyIndependent
5GraduatesM. GeyanandIndependent
6GraduatesK. NageshwarIndependent
7GraduatesK. Swamy GoudTelangana Rashtra Samiti
8GraduatesKapilavai Dileep KumarTelangana Rashtra Samiti

Elected from Teachers' constituencies

# Constituency Member Political Party
1TeachersGade Srinivasulu NaiduIndependent
2TeachersRamu Surya RaoIndependent (United Teachers Front)
3TeachersK.S. Lakshmana RaoIndependent
4TeachersV. BalasubrahmanyamIndependent
5TeachersDr. Bachala PullaiahIndependent
6TeachersKatepally Janardhan ReddyIndependent
7TeachersPaturi Sudhakar ReddyTelangana Rashtra Samiti
8TeachersPoola RavinderIndependent

Elected from Local Authorities' constituencies

# Constituency Member Political Party
1Local AuthoritiesIlapuram VenkaiahIndian National Congress
2Local AuthoritiesC. Narayana ReddyIndependent
3Local AuthoritiesMettu Govinda ReddyTelugu Desam Party
4Local AuthoritiesP. Viswaprasada RaoIndian National Congress
5Local AuthoritiesD.V. Surya Narayana RajuIndian National Congress
6Local AuthoritiesBoddu Bhaskara Rama RaoTelugu Desam Party
7Local AuthoritiesAngara Rama MohanTelugu Desam Party
8Local AuthoritiesMeka SeshubabuYSR Congress Party
9Local AuthoritiesVakati Narayana ReddyIndian National Congress
10Local AuthoritiesPotula Rama RaoIndian National Congress
11Local AuthoritiesDr. Desai Thippa ReddyIndependent
12Local AuthoritiesS. Jagadeeswar ReddyIndian National Congress
13Local AuthoritiesV. Bhoopal ReddyIndian National Congress
14Local AuthoritiesArikela Narsa ReddyTelugu Desam Party
15Local AuthoritiesT. Bhanu Prasad RaoIndian National Congress
16Local AuthoritiesPotla Nageshwar RaoTelugu Desam Party
17Local AuthoritiesNethi Vidya SagarIndian National Congress
18Local AuthoritiesM.S. Prabhakar RaoIndian National Congress
19Local AuthoritiesSyed Aminul Hasan JafriAll India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen
20Local AuthoritiesPatnam Narender ReddyTelugu Desam Party

Nominated

# Member Political Party

Functions

The Legislative Council is charged with fewer functions compared to the lower house. Although all legislation passed by the lower house must be similarly passed by the Council, it plays a largely advisory role.[1]

Office bearers

The Chairperson, elected by the Council, presides over the sessions of the Council.[1] A Deputy Chairperson is also elected to preside in the Chairperson's absence. The current officials are:[6]

  1. Chairperson: Dr. A. Chakrapani
  2. Deputy Chairperson: Singareddy Venkata Satish Kumar Raddy
  3. Leader of the House: Yanamala Ramakrishnudu
  4. Leader of the Opposition: C. Ramachandraiah
  5. Secretary: Dr.S.Raja Sada Ram.

[6]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 "Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council History". National Informatics Centre. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  2. Sharma. Introduction to the Constitution of India, Fifth Edition. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. pp. 212–13. ISBN 978-81-203-3674-2.
  3. Laxmikanth. Indian Polity For UPSC 3E. Tata McGraw-Hill. pp. 27–1. ISBN 978-0-07-015316-5.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Agarala Easwara Reddy (1994). State politics in India: reflections on Andhra Pradesh. M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. pp. 97–110. ISBN 978-81-85880-51-8.
  5. TMH General Knowledge Manual. Tata McGraw. 2007. p. 176. ISBN 978-0-07-061999-9.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council". National Informatics Centre. Retrieved 2010-09-03.