BRS raises concern over existence of Telangana Legislative Council

Senior BRS leader and former MP Vinod Kumar warned that the current composition does not comply with the constitutional requirements, risking the dissolution of the Legislative Council if a case is filed.

Hyderabad: Senior BRS leader and former MP Vinod Kumar raised concerns about the existence of the Legislative Council in Telangana and called for immediate action to safeguard it. He warned that the current composition does not comply with the constitutional requirements, risking the dissolution of the Legislative Council if a case is filed.

Ahead of the meeting between the Chief Ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in Hyderabad on Saturday, the former Parliamentarian emphasised the need to pressurise the union government to increase the number of seats in both Assembly and Council in both states. He urged both the Chief Minister to discuss the issue and find a solution. He stated that as per Articles 169, 170 and 171 of the Constitution, there should be a minimum of 40 seats in the Legislative Council which should form at least one-third of the Assembly seats.

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“Telangana had 120 MLAs and proportionately, we had 40 MLCs which complied with the constitutional provisions. But with the removal of the lone Anglo-Indian member in the Legislative Houses by the Modi government earlier, Telangana has 119 MLAs in the Assembly. One-third of this number would result in having 39 members in the Council which does not comply with the mandatory minimum number of 40,” he explained.

Vinod Kumar pointed out that the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act provides for the increase of legislative seats in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to 153 and 225 respectively. However, he said the Modi government ignored this provision, despite repeated requests from the then BRS government to make a minor amendment to the law and facilitate this change. He said while the government amended the law for Jammu and Kashmir, it has not responded to similar appeals for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

The BRS leader also called on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to support the increase of Assembly seats in both States and asked Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to prioritise the interests of Telangana. He cautioned against compromising on Telangana’s resources and assets. “Injustice should not be done to the State even in the division of Telangana Bhavan in Delhi,” he asserted, emphasising the need for fair treatment and protection of Telangana’s assets.