Former minister and Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Council, Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, is of the opinion that the Jagan Mohan Reddy Government was trying to lower the prestige of the legislative bodies.

In a press release issued here on Friday, the senior TDP leader said that for both the ruling dispensation and for the Opposition parties, legislative bodies are like people’s courts. They are the platforms to discuss the problems being faced by the people and the style of the administration.

But the Jagan Mohan Reddy Government is only trying to bring down the importance of these legislative bodies, Yanamala Ramakrishnudu felt. Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, is caught in a sort of fear psychosis as he feels that the Opposition will question his misdeeds and thus he miserably failed to conduct the proceedings of both the Houses, he added.

In the Constitutional framework it clearly indicated that it is the primary responsibility of the elected representatives to attend the legislative proceedings. But the Jagan Mohan Reddy Government is resorting to anti-democratic activities. The Assembly as well as the Council proceedings have not been conducted for more than 25 days in one year and last year both the Houses have met only for 15 days, which is far less than even the North-Eastern States, he pointed out.

The State Government has miserably failed in almost all the sectors, including both welfare and farming, he stated. The irrigation project works are moving on a snail’s pace while the condition of roads across the State are in a very poor condition.

The less said the better about the education sector and the people are facing various kinds of problems in the State, Ramakrishnudu felt. The session period of the legislative Houses has been cut short only to avoid facing the Opposition parties, he observed.

If any leader from the Opposition parties raises his or her voice, the State Government could not digest it and is trying to stifle their voices, the former minister maintained. The ruling party is forcibly bringing before the legislative Houses certain issues that are strongly opposed by both the Opposition parties and the common public, he noted.

Ramakrishnudu is of the opinion that the three-capital issue is being introduced in the House through backdoors though even the Supreme Court has found fault with it. Assembly is being convened only to get the bills passed but not to discuss the public issues, the senior TDP leader stated and demanded that the Opposition be allocated proper time to raise public issues.