Vijayawada: Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu asked the MLAs not to be complacent in the absence of opposition in the house.
He said that the newly-elected members should focus on learning how the budget is prepared, raising public issues, and understanding the procedures to be followed in the house.
A training and awareness session on the budget was held in the assembly committee hall on Tuesday. The workshop with MLAs and MLCs was chaired by speaker Chintakayala Ayyanna Patrudu. He discussed the importance of participating in meaningful debates and the need to learn about procedures and conventions in the house.
Civil supplies minister and former speaker Nadendla Manohar also shared his experiences as speaker and stressed the importance of maintaining decorum in the house. Representatives of PRS Legislative Research gave a presentation explaining how the budget document is prepared and how to understand various heads and allocation of funds.
Naidu said that the MLAs should come prepared to the house by doing homework on the issues in their constituencies. Instead of just raising problems, they should come up with innovative ideas suggesting solutions that the govt cannot ignore but must implement. He recalled his early days as an MLA in 1978 and how he managed to win nine times and served as chief minister four times. He said that service delivery is the only mantra for success in politics.
The CM mentioned that 61 MLAs from TDP, 15 from Jana Sena, and four from BJP are first-time MLAs. He said that the new MLAs should study every bill and policy document placed in the assembly to understand what is happening in the govt. They should remember that they are the policymakers, and their ideas should reflect in the policies of the govt.
He that in the past, the assembly used to discuss a subject for as long as needed. Gradually, MLAs’ interest in learning subjects is declining, he said, adding that continuous learning is essential.
