The recent “hudhud” typhoon in costal Andhra districts had triggered off a storm in the A. P. Legislative Assembly on Friday with the ruling TDP and opposition YSR Congress members’ engaged in a wordy dual leading to the adjournment of the House for a brief period.
When Deputy Speaker Mandali Buddha Prasad announced that a discussion on the hudhud calamity would be taken up, the YSR Congress President and Leader of the Opposition Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy said that since Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was not present in the House, the issue could be taken up the next day.
Responding to this, Minister Ganta Srinivas Rao pointed out that the Chief Minister was away in Visakhapatnam in connection with the function of the Law University and was expected any time. Hence, he urged that the discussion could commence and there was no need for the YSRCP members to make a big issue about the absence of CM.
This triggered off a heated argument between the YSRCP and TDP members and as the House was thrown into a pandemonium, the Deputy Speaker repeatedly appealed to the members to restrain themselves and allow the proceedings to continue in a clam and peaceful atmosphere.
When the House was brought to order, TDP’s Kona Ravi Kumar initiated the discussion and showered encomiums on Chandrababu Naidu for efficiently and diligently handling the crisis. He said the Chief Minister had amply proved his ability and capacity to handle any calamity with alacrity.
Participating in the discussion, Jaganmohan Reddy lashed out at the shabby treatment meted out to the cyclone victims. He alleged that in the name of providing relief to the victims, the TDP volunteers had hurled the food packets on the faces of the starving flood victims. Is this the way the suffering people should be treated, he questioned and quipped that the civil society would hang its head in shame at such happenings.
Reacting sharply to the allegations, Minister Accham Naidu went hammer and tongs at Jaganmohan Reddy and was aghast that instead of appreciating the efforts of the CM in providing the needed succour to the victims, the Leader of Opposition was indulging in cheap gimmicks. He further provoked the YSRCP members by leveling personal and serious charges against the party’s chief by citing the pending disproportionate assets case against him.
The minister went a step further by stating that it was shameful that a person against whom 11 charge sheets were pending in the court was sitting in the august House. This triggered off loud protests from the YSRC members and soon the House was thrown into a pell-mell. Both the TDP and YSRCP members traded charges and at times indulged in personal remarks.
The YRSCP members stormed into the well of the House and demanded that Minister Acchan Naidu should tender an apology for his uncalled for and provocative remarks against their leader. The TDP members countered the YSRCP members by repeating the charges against Jaganmohan Reddy. And this led to a virtual fisticuffs between the two sides. Senior leaders intervened and prevented the situation from taking an ugly turn. The Deputy Speaker in a bid to soothe the ruffled feelings of the members adjourned the House for a brief period. (NSS).
