The opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh, which boycotted the single-day budget session of the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, organised a mock Assembly session on the Zoom platform. Conducted over two days, Thursday and Friday, the mock Assembly session has been organised to discuss the alleged failures of the YSRCP government headed by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, TDP said. In Thursday's session, held between 4 pm and 6 pm, TDP MLA DBV Swami officiated as the Speaker, while the party's remaining representatives in the Legislative Assembly and Council donned the roles of ministers.
The participants discussed the COVID-19 crisis, highlighting the government's alleged failures by displaying newspaper cuttings and video clips. The TDP will again resume the proceedings of the mock Assembly session at 10 am Friday, which will go on till 2 pm. The TDP had decided to boycott the Budget session to protest against the alleged “unilateral, undemocratic and illogical” decisions of the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led state government.
After the single-day budget session, the Legislative Assembly was adjourned sine die, after the passage of the Andhra Pradesh Appropriation Vote on Account Bill, 2021, Andhra Pradesh Appropriation Bill No. 2, 2021 and Andhra Pradesh Appropriation Bill No. 3, 2021 Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy tabled the three Appropriation Bills that are required to meet the supplementary grants made by the State Assembly for the year and supplementary expenditure charged on the consolidated fund of the state of Andhra Pradesh for that year. The Bills were passed by voice vote.
Earlier in the day, the finance minister presented the budget for the year 2021-22, with an outlay of Rs 2,29,779. 27 crore, combining welfare priorities with development. The House also adopted a resolution to oppose the Centre's decision on 100% strategic disinvestment of Government of India's shareholding in Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, Visakhapatnam, along with the management control by the way of privatisation.