Appropriation Bill passed amid protests

Appropriation Bill passed amid protests
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Highlights

The ruling TDP government once again outwitted the opposition YSRCP’s move to nail the defectors, by rejecting the demand made by leader of opposition YS Jaganmohan Reddy for division, instead of voice vote to pass the Appropriation Bill.

Hyderabad: The ruling TDP government once again outwitted the opposition YSRCP’s move to nail the defectors, by rejecting the demand made by leader of opposition YS Jaganmohan Reddy for division, instead of voice vote to pass the Appropriation Bill.
YS Jagan quoting Kaul and Shakdhar said that it was the right of the members to demand for division but the Minister for Legislative Affairs Y Ramakrishnudu said that there was no provision for division while passing the Appropriation Bill.
He said the provisions in the Constitution and Assembly rule book do not allow to hold division on Appropriation Bill, which is constitutional obligation for the House to draw money from the exchequer for all government activities including paying of salaries of government staff for the next fiscal year and pleaded with the Speaker not to agree for division voting on this key bill. Finally the Speaker agreed with the government and said that there was no need for the division on the bill.
He said, “I have elicited the views of legal experts over this issue. They suggested that there was no need for the division. When the difference between the numbers of opposition MLAs and members of treasury benches is thin, it warrants a division. Here the situation is different," he added.
He then put the appropriation bill to vote which was passed by a voice vote. Amidst protests from the opposition benches, the Speaker adjourned the house sine die. Taken aback by the move, soon after the Assembly' adjourned, Jagan remarked that the TDP government made mockery of democracy in order to protect the defectors.
Earlier Jagan made no bones of the fact that they had wanted division to invoke the provision of the anti-defection law against all those defectors, in case they violated the party whip and seek their disqualification from the house.
It may be mentioned here that the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that one of the reasons for going in for President’s rule in Uttarakhand was that the government had refused to agree for division in passing the Appropriation Bill on March 18.
This statement assumes importance in the wake of the rejection of Assembly to agree for division during passing of the bill.

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