Andhra Pradesh Assembly today witnessed unprecedented bitterness between the ruling and opposition sides with both sides hurling challenges and counter challenges about their character. The downside of the debate is the involvement of leader of the house and opposition leader in this un-parliamentary war of words. Both of them washed their dirty linen in the house to the embarrassment of the public. While the debate was meant for getting special status to the state, the arguments were about who was more corrupt and dishonest. Normally, while leaders watch, members of the respective sides fight. Today in AP assembly, the responsibility of converting the house into the theater of unwholesome accusations was taken over by opposition leader Jagan and leader of the house Chandrababu Naidu equally. They excelled each other in the drama.
Jagan said Naidu’s name appeared 22 times in the ACB charge-sheet and Naidu retorted that a man, who presents himself every Friday before CBI court in 15 cases, had no right to talk about him. Ultimately, the debate on the special category status to state produced more heat than light. The resolution urging the centre to bestow the special status was adopted at 2.40 PM.
After one adjournment this morning for 15 minutes, the house reassembled at 10.30 am. And speaker asked the CM to make the statement of special status which was inconclusive yesterday. Following is the time line of the proceedings of AP Assembly.
10.30 am : Chief Minister Naidu begins his statement in on Special Category Status to the State.
10.36 am : Leader of Opposition YS Jaganmohan Reddy raises objection to Naidu’s speech and says CMs speech does not match with the note circulated in the House.
10. 46 am : Fierce exchange of accusatins takes place between Jagan and on the note on Special Category Status.
10.48 am : Naidu grills Jagan by stating that he can an understand predicament of first-timers (Jagan is a first-time MLA) in the Assembly in coming to grips with his statement.
11.25 am : Naidu expresses willingness to resolve the contentious issues between his Government and the Telangana State through a dialogue.
11.50 am : Jaganmohan Reddy starts debate Chandrababu Naidu’s statement. He provokes Naidu by commenting that the CM was unaware of several facts related to State bifurcation. He calls Naidu outdated politician.
12.15 pm : Jagan says giving Special Category Status is Union Cabinet’s prerogative, but in case of A.P. it has not materialized though it is essentially an executive decision
1.00 pm : War of words intensifies in the House. Verbal dual between Opposition Leader Jaganmohan Reddy and TDP/BJP MLA ensues.
1.00 pm : TDP MLA Dhulipalla Narendra takes objection to Jagan’s calling chief minister Naidu an outdated political leader. YSRCP MLAs rush towards Dhulipalla and TDP MLAs also try to enter the well. They pushes and shoved each other.
1.10 pm. : Chief Minister asks TDP MLAs to resume their seats and behave properly. He pleads his flock to ignore unparliamentarily comments by some people.
1. 15 pm : CM laments that “I was not given mike while in the Opposition, but we did not behave this way ( of Jagan).
1.20 pm : Social welfare minister Ravela Kishore Babu raises Jagan’s wealth t and asks him to give back to society the Rs 1 lakh crore Jagan allegedly amassed.
1.21 pm : Ravela says they will give the Mike to Jagan for speaking on special category status if he returned the money. Many others said Jagan had colluded with TRS government in Telangana. He wrote a letter to TRS recommending somebody to make an MLA. He met Harish Rao also in a Hotel. They said Jagan was behaving as if he was in Telangana. He never defended the TDP government when AP telephones tapped.
1.22 pm : Jagan says he will resign if they prove the charges against him. 1.30 pm. : Jagan asks CM to give Centre time frame of a month or 15 days to accord Special Category Status. Naidu was not able to fight because he compromised with centre on cash-for-vote scam.
1.40 pm : Chandrababu Naidu nobody can harm him. “Your father also took cases against to Supreme Court. Nothing had happened. You also can’t do anything against me. I am like fire.
The same continued till 2.40 when the resolution was tabled for the approval of the House. It was approved and the speaker adjourned the House till tomorrow.
