Andhra Pradesh Assembly has become the first legislature in the country to introduce an artificial intelligence-based attendance system.
On the first day of the state’s Budget session, which commenced last week, the attendance roster was missing. Instead, Assembly Speaker Ayyanna Patrudu introduced an AI facial recognition system that would record attendance “only when members are seated in their places”.
This comes as the Parliament is considering a similar system. “In the past, some members would simply sign in the register and leave without attending the proceedings. The AI-based system will put an end to that practice. The members must realise that people want them to raise public issues in the House,” the Speaker said.
The digital system will record MLAs’ attendance only if they are inside the House and seated. Legislature Secretariat officials said members who do not attend a minimum of 60 days could face disqualification.
There is also a proposal under consideration, according to which the members who remain absent during the Assembly sessions would face pay cuts. “In any system, employees don’t get paid in case of absenteeism. The same rule applies to the legislators. We are thinking on the lines of making a significant cut in the annual salary of the legislators who remain absent frequently during the Assembly Sessions,” the Speaker said.
Also read: AP unveils Rs 3.32 lakh cr Budget with welfare, growth push
Nine AI-based cameras deployed in the House will scan through and take attendance of the members with precision. The system starts recording the attendance for a few seconds from the moment a member sits in the designated seat.
A bulletin was circulated among the legislators on February 10, informing them about the ‘recording of attendance through digital means’ and doing away with the system of signing in the attendance register.
The Budget Session began with Governor Abdul Nazeer’s address. While the opposition YSR Congress Party’s 11 MLAs attended—including its president and former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy—officials claimed the AI-based system showed they “spent less than 10 minutes inside the Assembly.”
The ruling coalition partners Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Jana Sena Party have been accusing YSRCP, which is demanding recognition as the main Opposition, of not attending proceedings. Previous sessions have seen YSRCP protests and walkouts over the demand.
Meanwhile, Education and Information Technology Minister Nara Lokesh met Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan in the Assembly for the Business Advisory Committee meeting after the Governor’s speech.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council and former YSRCP minister Botsa Satyanarayana said the party would continue to push for recognition as the Opposition. The party has been denied recognition, citing the Constitution and Assembly rules that mandate at least 10 per cent of the state’s 175 Assembly seats.
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