Comments
The Andhra Pradesh Government faced embarrassing movements in the State Assembly and Legislative Council on the nomenclature of agriculture budget, as it faced Privileges Motion on the issue.
After the faux pas, both Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and Agriculture Minister Kanna Lakshminarayana explained to the members that it was only a technical mistake.
The Opposition had strongly objected to introduction of the exclusive ‘budget’ for agriculture, violating the procedures. Noticing the mistake at the eleventh hour, the Government had struck off the word ‘budget’ and mentioned ‘Action Plan.’ Not satisfied with explanation, the Telugu Desam, YSR Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and Telangana Rashtra Samithi moved Privileges motion.
Addressing the Council on Wednesday, Finance Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy insisted that it was only technical lapse and that the Government wanted to give a focussed approach to agriculture and allied subjects. He, however, said the Government would follow the due process and present a full-fledged budget for the sector.
In an informal chat with reporters, the Chief Minister later made light of the issue. “You should look at the commitment and seriousness of the Government in improving the lot of farmers,” he said.
“If the exclusive Action Plan for agriculture is successful, we will consider introducing similar plans for women and child welfare, education and industry,” he said.
> kurmanath.kanchi@thehindu.co.in
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.