Telangana Assembly passes four Bills returned by Governor with voice vote

The Bills were introduced and passed by the Assembly with a voice vote after Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy made an announcement around 10 p.m. on August 4.

Telangana Legislative Assembly has passed four Bills, which were returned by the Governor with queries, doubts and seeking clarifications, again on August 4 night without making any changes. The Bills were sent to the Governor for her assent in September last year and February this year.

The Bills were introduced and passed by the Assembly with a voice vote after Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy made an announcement around 10 p.m. stating that his office has received three messages sent by the Governor under Article 175 (2) of the Constitution on Government Bills along with the four Bills returned by the Governor.

The House took up the Bills although Opposition Congress was reluctant on the grounds that it was late in the night. Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Leader M. Bhatti Vikramarka said in a lighter vein that Minister for Labour C. Malla Reddy should not be allowing more work in the Assembly as the House was functioning since 10 in the morning and Labour Laws won’t allow any work beyond eight hours. He requested the Minister to come to their rescue since they had been sitting from 10 a.m.

Minister for IT, Industries and Urban Development K.T. Rama Rao introduced the Telangana Municipal Laws Amendment Bill, 2022 and stated that it was passed on September 13 last year and sent to the Governor for assent on September 14. The Bill aimed to increase the number of co-option members in municipal bodies from 5 to 15 and the objection it would only benefit minorities was not correct as their representation would increase only proportionally.

Introducing the Telangana State Private Universities Establishment and Regulation Amendment Bill, 2022 Minister for Education P. Sabitha Indra Reddy said the State Government had sanctioned the establishment of 5 new private universities – NICMAR, MNR, Gurunanak, Srinidhi and Kaveri – for promoting higher education based on the recommendations of an expert committee for their inclusion in the Act. The Bill was initially passed on September 13 last year and sent to Government on September 14.

However, the Governor had raised doubts over land, building plans and others and they were unfounded. She stated that 24 States already have private universities in the country. When a few members sought to know about the fate of students admitted by the universities even before the Bill was given assent by the Governor, the Minister said two universities did that and the students were adjusted in colleges under Osmania University. Their management quota was cancelled for two years and a provision was made to have 25% of students from Telangana.

The Telangana Public Employment Regulation of Age of Superannuation Amendment Bill, 2022 was introduced by Minister for Health and Finance T. Harish Rao and stated that it too was passed on September 13 last year and sent to the Governor the very next day. It was aimed basically to rectify an anomaly.