States: AP; Mum's the Word

India Today
September 7,1998

ANDHRA PRADESH
Mum's the Word

Even after four years and 14 sessions, silence in the Assembly remains golden for a dozen TDP MLAs.

By Amarnath K Menon

Mum's the word In the Venkatagiri assembly constituency skirting the Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu border, he is revered as Raja garu, the scion of a wealthy zamindar family. To an older generation of cricket buffs in the south, he is more familiar as the former captain of the Andhra cricket team. Now 73, V.V.S.V.R.K. Yachendra is the third oldest member of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly. But four years after making his political debut in December 1994, he feels he has had enough. "I won't be fighting elections again," he says, quite unlike politicians. That, however, is not the only thing that sets him apart: so far he hasn't uttered a single word in the Assembly.

Yachendra, of course, has company. In the state Assembly, there are a dozen members like him who have not yet opened their mouths. Incidentally, all are from the ruling TDP. Assembly records show that the only time they ever spoke was when they took oaths as MLAs in December 1994. Since then the Assembly has had 14 sessions lasting 191 days. Even the advent of television coverage of the assembly proceedings has failed to enthuse these members.

The legislators dismiss charges that they are not taking their jobs seriously. "Why should I speak in the House when I know how to take care of my people?" argues N. Moola Reddy. He may have a point. In an end-July TDP internal survey conducted in his Anaparthy constituency in East

Godavari district, Reddy had notched up an impressive popularity rating of 72.2 per cent compared to the 59.7 per cent that Chief Minister and party President N. Chandrababu Naidu logged. Evidently, in Moola Reddy's case, actions do speak louder than words.

Not all are similarly blessed, yet they come up with innovative excuses for their long silence in the House. M. Vijayapal Reddy vowed after winning the Narayankhed seat that he would win it a second time. That is a tall order since nobody has won the seat in consecutive elections. "So, I keep a low profile in Hyderabad, stay away from the Assembly and concentrate on developing my backward constituency," he explains. Vijayapal Reddy shuttles between his modest apartment in Hyderabad and Narayankhed in nearby Medak district. There is, however, a laminated portrait of the assembly building on his bedroom wall, presumably to remind him that he continues to be an MLA.

Others are brash enough to admit that attending the assembly sessions is a waste of time. "Quite often, issues raised in the House are irrelevant," says Y.T. Prabhakar Reddy, owner of two theatres in his Madakasira constituency. There is some substance in his argument. Of a total 1,228 hours that the House met, 120 hours were lost simply because members derailed proceedings. "It costs the state Rs 10,000 for every minute the House is in session and members only spend 10 per cent of the time discussing legislation," says an exasperated Speaker Yanamala Ramakrishnudu. The Speaker wants to change things. He recently introduced several measures to make the proceedings in the Assembly more responsive to the demands of the MLAs. Among these were:

Ministers to give written replies within a week to any query raised by a member during zero hour.
Action Taken Reports of the Government to be tabled within six months of a House committee presenting a report.
Comply with any assurance made by a minister to a member in the House by sending an implementation report within 60 days.

Still, the members persist with their indifference. Only a handful use the well-stocked assembly library and most scan the newspapers only to see if there's any mention of their names. Some months ago, the Internet facility was extended to all MLAs, but so far its only users are the Speaker and a Congress MLA K.R. Suresh Reddy. The techno-savvy chief minister even organised a computer training programme for MLAs after which he offered soft-term loans to them to buy computers. Only four ministers opted to buy laptops while 47 MLAs went in for desktop models.

The Speaker confesses that there is little he can do to make MLAs more accountable and perform the primary function for which they are elected. "I can regulate business in the House but I can't force members to take more interest in their business," he says. The pity is the MLAs also are aware of the limits of the Speaker's powers.

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