Vijayawada: The 85th All India Presiding Officers’ Conference in Patna served as a platform for reform advocacy, where Andhra Pradesh Assembly SpeakerChintakayala Ayyanna Patrudu proposed key changes to strengthen legislative bodies ahead of the Indian Constitution’s 75th anniversary.In his address, Ayyanna Patrudu has emphasised the need for greater legislative autonomy from executive control, suggesting that current financial, and administrative oversight by the executive branch violates constitutional guarantees of legislative independence.He raised concerns about the declining number of legislative sessions across the country, proposing a constitutional amendment to mandate a minimum of 75 sittings per year for legislatures with more than 100 members. “The number of sittings is a direct index of the health of the Legislature and democracy,” he said.Highlighting recent developments in Andhra Pradesh, Ayyanna Patrudu noted that nearly 50 per cent of the state’s current Assembly members are first-time legislators, with 84 new MLAs joining after the recent elections. He called for a comprehensive training programme for new lawmakers, requesting the Lok Sabha Speaker’s guidance in developing a “rich and scientific orientation programme.”The conference coincides with India’s preparations to celebrate 75 years of its Constitution. The AP Assembly Speaker praised the document’s progressive nature, particularly noting how India granted universal adult suffrage in its first elections of 1951–52, predating similar reforms in the United States by more than a decade.He also referenced the recent 2024 general elections, which saw a record-breaking 96.88 crore registered voters, describing it as “the highest in human history.”
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