The Leader of the opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly is the official leader of principal opposition party in assembly. The leader of opposition is given rank of cabinet minister and is entitled to draw monthly salary and other perks of the same Rank.[1]
Location of the Andhra State (1953–1956) on the map of India.
The Andhra State, a precursor to the modern state of Andhra Pradesh, was established on 1 October 1953, following the Andhra movement. The formation of Andhra State was made possible by the Andhra State Act, which was passed in the Parliament of India in September 1953. This significant development was ignited by a determined fast led by Potti Sreeramulu, whose sacrifice ultimately catalyzed the demand for a new linguistic state.
Location of the Andhra State (1956–2014) on the map of India.
The Andhra Pradesh, colloquially referred to as United Andhra Pradesh, was officially established on 1 November 1956, through the enactment of the States Reorganisation Act in August 1956. This led to the dissolution of Hyderabad State, with its divisions becoming part of Mysore State and Bombay State. Concurrently, the integration of Telugu-speaking regions into Andhra State laid the foundation for the vibrant state of Andhra Pradesh with a bicameral parliamentary system consisting of Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly chambers.[6][7]
Location of the Andhra State (since 2014) on the map of India.
Originally situated in Hyderabad, the capital later moved to Amaravati in 2017 following the implementation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, which led to the formation of Telangana on 2 June 2014 and a reduction in the assembly constituencies from 294 to 175. Despite these significant boundary changes, the state continued to be recognised as Andhra Pradesh.[8][9]
Official opposition[11] is a term used in Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly to designate the political party which has secured the second largest number of seats in the assembly. In order to get formal recognition, the party must have at least 10% of total membership of the Legislative Assembly. A single party has to meet the 10% seat criterion, not an alliance. Many of the Indian state legislatures also follows this 10% rule while the rest of them prefer single largest opposition party according to the rules of their respective houses.
Role
The opposition's main role is to question the government of the day and hold them accountable to the public. The opposition is equally responsible in upholding the best interests of the people of the country. They have to ensure that the Government does not take any steps, which might have negative effects on the people of the country.[12]
The role of the opposition in legislature is basically to check the excesses of the ruling or dominant party, and not to be totally antagonistic. There are actions of the ruling party which may be beneficial to the masses and opposition is expected to support such steps.[13]
In legislature, opposition party has a major role and must act to discourage the party in power from acting against the interests of the country and the common man. They are expected to alert the population and the Government on the content of any bill, which is not in the best interests of the country.
Statistics
List of leaders of opposition by length of term (From 2014)
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