Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai today questioned the "logic" of keeping voting rights in some Legislative Council reserved for graduates and teachers and said the government should move to amend such laws which "distinguishes" between educated and uneducated.
Thambidurai, who was in the Chair, made these remarks when Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju was replying to a debate on The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2015 that seeks to raise the number of seats in Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council from 50 to 58.
The AIADMK leader spoke when the minister talked about the number of seats where voting rights are reserved only for graduates and teachers.
"What is the logic of voting rights only to graduates... for teachers? Why not for doctors or engineers? You should amend it also. This is an old system. Why are we still following it," he said.
Thambidurai said this distingushes between the educated and the uneducated even as everybody enjoys similar rights in a democracy.
Taken by surprise, Rijiju said this could be discussed at some other time.
Many states have Legislative Councils, the Upper House of Assembly, and its members have six-year terms like those in the Rajya Sabha.
