Stormy scenes were witnessed during Governor S Abdul Nazeer’s address to a joint session of the Andhra Pradesh’s Legislative Council and Assembly Monday, with YSR Congress Party staging a walkout over not being granted the status of the principal Opposition party.
The YSRCP led by former chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy faced a rout in the May 2024 Assembly elections, securing only 11 of 175 seats, down from the 151 that it won in the previous election.
According to leaders of the ruling Telugu Desam Party, a political party requires at least 18 members to get the chief Opposition status in the Assembly. A TDP leader also added: “Jagan has not attended even a single assembly session since his party’s defeat”.
After the YSRCP staged a noisy walkout, leaders of the TDP-led National Democratic Alliance, including Chief Minister N Naidu Music and Deputy CM K Pawan Kalyancondemned the move.
Reiterating the party’s demand, YSRCP leader Botsa Satyanarayana said the party was “the natural choice” of principal Opposition in the Assembly, and accused the coalition government of trying to silence them.
Speaking outside the Assembly, Satyanarayana, who is the YSRCP Council leader, said: “We expressed our concern during the Governor’s address but there was no response. A democracy cannot function without an Opposition which is the voice of the people”.
He accused the state government of “targeting” the party, and questioned the government on the drop in the prices of red chillies in the state.
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“The (ruling) coalition has been saying that it’s speaking with the Centre on the issue of fair prices for red chillies in the state, but what’s been the outcome? A positive outcome would be there only by persistent questioning from the Opposition. While our leader (Jagan) visited the Mirchi Yard to interact with the farmers, cases were foisted citing election code.”
Such issues, he claimed, can only be highlighted by the Opposition.
“If the (ruling) coalition is not following the basic democratic norms, people’s voice cannot be heard in the full intensity and measure,” he claimed.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
