Former chief minister and YSR Congress president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy wrote a letter to assembly speaker Chintakayala Ayyannapathrudu seeking opposition status for the YSR Congress in the Assembly. He said that nowhere in the constitution it was said that at least 10 percent of the seats are to be won to become the opposition party.

Jagan Mohan Reddy said in 1984, the TDP had won just 30 Parliament seats out of 543 and was given the opposition status. Its leader Parvataneni Upendra became the leader of the opposition, he said. Similarly, in 1994, in Andhra Pradesh, Congress had won just 26 seats out of 294 and the party was given opposition status. Its leader P Janardhana Reddy was recognized as the leader of opposition, he said.

He further said that in Delhi in 2015, BJP had won just 3 Assembly seats out of 70 and the party was given the opposition status. Similarly, the largest party in the opposition would get the opposition status and nowhere it was said that the party should get 10 percent of seats.

He pointed out that he was administered the oath of office after the Ministers were administered, which was against the practice. This shows that the speaker and the government are against him and his YSR Congress, he said. He further said that the speaker seems to have already made up his mind not to give him the opposition status.

Opposition status would give some privileges of representing the peoples’ issues in the house, Jagan Mohan Reddy said. The voice of the opposition should be recognized and considered during the sessions, he said. The present trend in the government and in the assembly shows unfriendliness towards him in the house, he said.

He wanted the speaker to consider his request and give him the leader of opposition status and also recognize his party as the opposition in the Assembly.