Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council
| Andhra Pradesh Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council) | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Chairman |
Dr. A. Chakrapani, Nominated |
Deputy Chairman |
Singa Reddy Venkata Satish Kumar Reddy, TDP |
Leader of the House | |
Leader of the Opposition |
C. Rama Chandraiah, INC |
| Seats |
58 TDP (23) PDF (6) Congress (7) YSR Congress (5) BJP (1) PRTU (2) CPI (1) Nominated (8) Independents (4)Vacant (1) |
| Elections | |
| Single transferable vote | |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Chamber of Vidhan Parishad, Vidhan Bhavan, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh | |
| Website | |
|
www | |
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 58 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SRI YANAMALA RAMAKRISHNUDU | Telugu Desam Party |
| 2 | DR.P NARAYANA | Telugu Desam Party |
| 3 | SRI DEVASANI CHINNA GOVINDA REDDY | YSR Congress Party |
| 4 | SRI ADIREDDY APPA RAO | YSR Congress Party |
| 5 | SRI PILLI SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE | YSR Congress Party |
| 6 | SRI KOLAGATLA VEERABHADRA SWAMY | YSR Congress Party |
| 7 | SRI SINGA REDDY VENKATA SATISH KUMAR REDDY | Telugu Desam Party |
| 8 | SRI SHARIFF MOHAMMED AHMED | Telugu Desam Party |
| 9 | SRI GUNDUMALA THIPPE SWAMY | Telugu Desam Party |
| 10 | SMT.KAVALI PRATIBHA BHARATHI | Telugu Desam Party |
| 11 | SMT.GUMMIDI SANDHYA RANI | Telugu Desam Party |
| 12 | SRI VATTIKUTI VEERA VENKANNA CHOWDARY | Telugu Desam Party |
| 13 | SMT.P SAMANTHAKAMANI | Telugu Desam Party |
| 14 | SRI M SUDHAKAR BABU | Indian National Congress |
| 15 | SRI ANGOORI LAXMI SHIVA KUMARI | Indian National Congress |
| 16 | SRI B CHANGAL RAYUDU | Indian National Congress |
| 17 | SRI MOHAMMAD JANI | Indian National Congress |
| 18 | SRI C RAMACHANDRAIAH | Indian National Congress |
| 19 | SRI P.J. CHANDRA SHEKARA RAO | Communist Party Of India |
| 20 | SRI SOMU VEERRAJU | Bharatiya Janata Party |
Elected from Graduates' constituencies
| # | District | Member | Political Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SRIKAKULAM,VISHAKAPATNAM,VIZIANAGARAM | SRI M.V.S. SARMA | PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATIC FRONT |
| 2 | WEST GODAVARI,EAST GODAVARI | Kalidindi Ravikiran Varma | Independent |
| 3 | KRISHNA,GUNTUR | Boddu Nageswara Rao | PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATIC FRONT |
| 4 | CHITTOOR,PRAKASAM,NELLORE | Yandapalli Srinivasulu Reddy | PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATIC FRONT |
| 5 | KURNOOL,KADAPA,ANANTAPUR | M. Geyanand | PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATIC FRONT |
Elected from Teachers' constituencies
| # | Constituency | Member | Political Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Teachers | Gade Srinivasulu Naidu | Independent |
| 2 | Teachers | Ramu Surya Rao | Independent |
| 3 | Teachers | K.S. Lakshmana Rao | Independent |
| 4 | Teachers | V. Balasubrahmanyam | Independent |
| 5 | Teachers | Dr. Bachala Pullaiah | Independent |
| 6 | Teachers | Katepally Janardhan Reddy | Independent |
| 7 | Teachers | Paturi Sudhakar Reddy | Telangana Rashtra Samiti |
| 8 | Teachers | Poola Ravinder | Independent |
Elected from Local Authorities' constituencies
| # | Constituency | Member | Political Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Local Authorities | Ilapuram Venkaiah | Indian National Congress |
| 2 | Local Authorities | C. Narayana Reddy | Independent |
| 3 | Local Authorities | Mettu Govinda Reddy | Telugu Desam Party |
| 4 | Local Authorities | P. Viswaprasada Rao | Indian National Congress |
| 5 | Local Authorities | D.V. Surya Narayana Raju | Indian National Congress |
| 6 | Local Authorities | Boddu Bhaskara Rama Rao | Telugu Desam Party |
| 7 | Local Authorities | Angara Rama Mohan | Telugu Desam Party |
| 8 | Local Authorities | Meka Seshubabu | YSR Congress Party |
| 9 | Local Authorities | Vakati Narayana Reddy | Indian National Congress |
| 10 | Local Authorities | Potula Rama Rao | Indian National Congress |
| 11 | Local Authorities | Dr. Desai Thippa Reddy | Independent |
| 12 | Local Authorities | S. Jagadeeswar Reddy | Indian National Congress |
| 13 | Local Authorities | V. Bhoopal Reddy | Indian National Congress |
| 14 | Local Authorities | Arikela Narsa Reddy | Telugu Desam Party |
| 15 | Local Authorities | T. Bhanu Prasad Rao | Indian National Congress |
| 16 | Local Authorities | Potla Nageshwar Rao | Telugu Desam Party |
| 17 | Local Authorities | Nethi Vidya Sagar | Indian National Congress |
| 18 | Local Authorities | M.S. Prabhakar Rao | Indian National Congress |
| 19 | Local Authorities | Syed Aminul Hasan Jafri | All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen |
| 20 | Local Authorities | Patnam Narender Reddy | Telugu 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]
- Chairperson: Dr. A. Chakrapani
- Deputy Chairperson: Singareddy Venkata Satish Kumar Reddy
- Leader of the House: Yanamala Ramakrishnudu
- Leader of the Opposition: C. Ramachandraiah
- Secretary: Dr.S.Raja Sada Ram.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council History". National Informatics Centre. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
- ↑ Sharma. Introduction to the Constitution of India, Fifth Edition. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. pp. 212–13. ISBN 978-81-203-3674-2.
- ↑ Laxmikanth. Indian Polity For UPSC 3E. Tata McGraw-Hill. pp. 27–1. ISBN 978-0-07-015316-5.
- 1 2 3 4 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.
- ↑ TMH General Knowledge Manual. Tata McGraw. 2007. p. 176. ISBN 978-0-07-061999-9.
- 1 2 "Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council". National Informatics Centre. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
