AP Assembly witnesses uproar over special status, adjourns

The first day of Monsoon session of Andhra Pradesh Assembly today witnessed uproarious scenes as expected as the main Opposition YSRCP members stormed into the Speaker’s podium on special status tag.

The House, which began at 9.30 am, was adjourned twice in the morning when the YSRCP members insisted that a debate taken up on special status to the State. Despite Speaker K Sivaprasada Rao’s repeated appeals, the YSRCP members did not relent and made it to the podium disrupting the proceedings.

When the House reassembled in the afternoon after a 15-minute break, the YSRCP legislators are yet again disrupted Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s statement on the demand of special status to the State. There was a slugfest between the leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition on the special status issue. The House witnessed chaos on the issue.

Jaganmohan Reddy flayed the Telugu Desam ally of the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre for continuing ambiguity on the demand which was confusing the people. The suicides on special status issue were caused by Naidu’s dispensation, he charged. At Jagan’s behest, the YSRCP members rattled the proceedings compelling the Speaker to adjourn the House to Tuesday September 1.

Earlier, Jaganmohan Reddy sought to know as to why Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley denied the just demand of special status issue while the State was trying to convince the Centre that special package was not acceptable to the parties and people. This ambiguity on the special tag prompting the youth to resort to extreme steps, he said and attributed them to failure of the Chief Minister. “Despite our notice for a resolution for special status to AP through a debate, the House was denying it”, he said and alleged that the House was reluctant to pass a condolence resolution on former President APJ Abdul Kalam’s demise.