MLAs may lose pay for skipping house

Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Chintakayala Ayyanna Patrudu on Wednesday suggested a ‘no work, no pay’ policy for MLAs who are not attending the Assembly.

He also mooted the proposal to give voters the ‘Right to Recall’ such public representatives.

The Speaker made the suggestion at the 86th All India Conference of Presiding Officers on “Accountability of Legislature towards the People” at Lucknow.

He was apparently hinting at Opposition YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MLAs who have not been attending the Assembly.

All 11 MLAs, including YSRCP president and former Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, have been skipping Assembly sessions to press their demand for Leader of Opposition status for Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The Speaker said that the failure of some legislators to perform their duties is most regrettable.

“In the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, some of the members have not attended even a single day of sessions nor participated in a single debate till date since their election to the House in June 2024. To make matters worse, most of these members who do not attend the House regularly draw their salaries and allowances. As a Speaker, this causes me great pain,” he said.

“How can we avoid being belittled by the public with such unethical behaviour? How can such conduct be justified?” he asked.

Stating that there are no specific rules to prohibit this kind of behaviour, he requested the Lok Sabha Speaker to show a way forward. He also sought advice from his fellow Speakers.

“This is not just an issue for the Andhra Pradesh legislature. The public will use these examples to paint all elected representatives with the same brush. No one is exempt from public criticism,” he said.

The Speaker made two suggestions in this regard. He said that just as employees’ salaries are withheld if they do not attend duty, the salaries and allowances of public representatives should be cut for non-attendance.

“For those elected representatives who still do not learn a lesson, there is no choice but to send them back to the ‘People’s Court’. If necessary, the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act should be amended to give voters the ‘Right to Recall’ their elected representatives. With this right, the people themselves will be able to teach errant Members a proper lesson,” Ayyanna Patrudu said.

He also noted that while the population and its problems are increasing exponentially, the number of working days of the legislatures is decreasing year after year.

Calling this a sign of an unhealthy legislative system, he stated that legislatures should function for at least 60 days a year. Only if the House meets frequently can members hold the government accountable through tools like Question Hour, Zero Hour, Short-Notice Questions, and Calling Attention Motions, he added.