Telangana’s Monsoon Session in August, poll age cut on cards

Hyderabad: The Telangana government is likely to convene the Monsoon Session of the state Assembly in the third week of August, with a resolution seeking to lower the minimum age for contesting Lok Sabha and Assembly elections from 25 to 21 years among the main items on its legislative agenda.

Bills relating to urban development, land pooling and governance reforms are also set to come up during the session, the dates for which are expected to be announced in the next few days. 

The sitting was initially planned for the second week of the month but has been deferred owing to renovation work under way in the Assembly building, according to a report in The Times of India.

Case for a lower age bar

At the heart of the agenda is a resolution urging the Centre to bring down the minimum age for contesting parliamentary and Assembly polls to 21 years. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has been pressing for the change, arguing that a 21-year-old is already eligible to be appointed an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) or Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and to hold posts such as mayor and zilla parishad chairperson.

He has noted that former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, while another former PM PV Narasimha Rao allowed those aged 21 to contest local body posts, including those of mayor and zilla parishad chairperson.

The government now proposes to pass the resolution on the floor of the House and forward it to the Centre for consideration.

Deputy Speaker’s post on cards

The Monsoon Session is also expected to see the long-delayed election to the post of Deputy Speaker, which has remained vacant for over two-and-a-half years. Revanth Reddy had earlier named Dornakal MLA J Ramchander Naik as the ruling party’s choice for the post. 

The government, however, is also weighing the candidature of Devarakonda MLA Balu Naik Nenavath, TOI reported, citing sources.

Also lined up is the CURE Act, which is expected to cover the Hyderabad metropolitan region up to the Outer Ring Road. Its draft has already been placed in the public domain for objections and suggestions.

The land pooling bill and new building regulations are likely to be introduced as well, as part of the government’s broader urban planning and development push.