Hyderabad, Aug 27 :
The entire Opposition on Friday strongly opposed the bill introduced in the State Legislative Assembly to amend the Societies Registration Act. However, the bill was passed by the Assembly with a voice vote amid strong protests by the Opposition.
Responding to the Opposition’s charge that the bill is violative of the provisions of the Indian Constitution, the Minister for Endowments, Mr Gade Venkat Reddy, said that if the Opposition so feels, the parties are free to take legal recourse against the amendment. He felt that in passing the bill there is no violation of any provisions of the Constitution.
He said that the bill has been brought before the House in the larger interest of the people and for the effective administration of the Andhra Cricket Association.
Earlier, speaking on the amendment all the Floor leaders of various Opposition parties, including the Majlis-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (MIM), an ally of the ruling Congress, termed the move against the tenets of the Constitution. In unison, the whole Opposition demanded that the bill be withdrawn immediately.
Unable to digest the Minister’s statement that the Opposition is free to move the legal courts against the amendment, former IAS officer and the lone Lok Satta legislator, Mr Jayaprakash Narayan, said that the Congress Government in the State has blatantly violated the Constitution in getting the bill passed. “The bill is against the letter and spirit of the Indian Constitution,” he observed.
With a choked voice the Lok Satta founder president felt that the black days of Emergency are now being repeated in the State with the ruling Congress gagging the voice of the Opposition.