Centre plans President order for Telangana, Andhra Pradesh MPs to use fund at home

New Delhi: Union government would bring an Executive order to amend Parliament rules to allow Rajya Sabha members from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh who have been allotted to the other state to spend their MPLADS fund in their state of nativity.

The order is necessary to ensure that the demands of the members from both regions in this regard are met. The situation arose when five Rajya Sabha MPs from Telangana were allotted to the residuary Andhra Pradesh and two hailing from Seemandhra region were made to represent Telangana.

During the drawing of the lots, the MPs had asked the parliamentary affairs ministry to amend laws suitably to ensure that they don’t represent the other region. However such an amendment was not possible and the lottery threw up surprises.

The members who were allotted to different regions asked the government to make suitable amendments so that they spend their MPLADS fund in their respective native states and not the one they represent in the House of Elders.

The government was contemplating to allow the MPs to swap states, but sources now say that it may not be possible under the current laws and amending the laws for this purpose would be difficult. “To ensure that the MPs are satisfied, we are now planning to bring out an order to enable them use their MPLADS in their native states,” the source said. This would put an end to the apprehensions among MPs from both the states on how could they spend their funds in a state which they opposed.