The Andhra Pradesh assembly speaker Chintakayala Ayyanna Patrudu on Tuesday declared implementation of “no attendance, no pay” rule for absentee MLAs of the YSRCP.
The assembly session began an hour late on Tuesday due to a technical glitch.
The speaker clarified that the delay in commencing the session was caused by a software-related issue. Despite the delay, the House had full quorum and most members were present on time.
He noted that the newly introduced digital attendance system was functioning effectively.
According to him, the system not only records the presence of members but also tracks the exact duration — hours and minutes — they spend in the assembly.
The speaker indicated that a decision would soon be taken regarding YSRCP MLAs who have been staying away from the assembly.
Stressing accountability, he said legislators who fail to perform their duties properly should face consequences.
“MLAs must attend the assembly. It is their duty. Some members are not attending the House at all but are still drawing salaries and allowances. This is not appropriate. Their salaries should be cut,” he asserted, effectively advocating a “no attendance, no pay” policy for legislators.
He questioned why rules applicable to government employees — where salaries are cut for absence — should not also apply to elected representatives.
“If employees face action and salary cuts for not attending duty, why should the same rule not apply to MLAs?” he asked.
The speaker further revealed that he had raised the issue during a public meeting in Visakhapatnam, where nearly 80 percent of attendees supported the idea.
He also proposed at a recent conference of Speakers in Lucknow that legislators who draw salaries without attending assembly sessions should face recall by the public.
Ayyanna Patrudu noted that recall provisions exist in several countries, but such mechanisms are not widely implemented in India despite it being a democracy.
He suggested that stronger accountability measures were needed to ensure responsible legislative functioning.
The Speaker also spoke about initiatives to familiarise students with legislative procedures.
He said a recent mock assembly session involving schoolchildren was highly successful, adding that the students performed better than ministers and MLAs in debates.
Around 200 applications have been received from schools seeking to participate, with students from Visakhapatnam to Rayalaseema visiting the assembly to observe proceedings.