Ayyanna Patrudu proposes a minimum of 70 working days for the Assembly each year

A.P. Legislative Assembly Speaker Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu, second from left, and Council Chairman K. Moshenu Raju, extreme right, with their Telangana counterparts Gaddam Prasad Kumar, left, and Gutha Sukender Reddy, at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in New South Wales, Australia, on November 6, 2024.

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu on November 6, 2024 (Wednesday) proposed a minimum of 70 working days for the Assembly each year to address the gap caused by the limited number of legislative sessions, and observed that the effectiveness of Zero Hour and Question Hour was being impacted by time constraint.

Speaking at a workshop on ‘Benchmarking, Standards and Guidelines: Strengthening the Institution of Parliament through the Adoption of Best Practices’, at the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) underway in New South Wales (Australia), Mr. Patrudu said the A.P. Legislative Assembly was moving towards a paperless system through the adoption of Information & Communications Technology (ICT), and reiterated the State’s commitment to follow the best practices from around the world and stay ahead in implementing new technologies.

Transparency

He said transparency was the foundation of the Indian Constitution, and that it was customary in India to conduct legislative sessions openly, except in situations related to national security. Transparency was enshrined both in the Constitution and in the legislative rules, he noted.

Mr. Patrudu said Andhra Pradesh was fostering civic engagement by live broadcasting the Assembly sessions, but there was scope for further improvement to ensure full transparency, especially in committee meetings.

He suggested that there was a need for a comprehensive governance approach to make committee proceedings accessible to the public.

Also, Mr. Patrudu said the legislators had limited time to deliberate on crucial proposals due to their active preoccupation with local issues, and suggested that they would have more time if each government department fulfilled its responsibilities effectively.