Jagan Creates History in AP Assembly

• CM did not take Tirupati MLA abroad for treatment: Jagan
• Faults Speaker, saying he was not allowed to speak after CM
• His remark provokes angry protests from treasury benches
• Speaker says when he looked at Jagan, he did not respond

Hyderabad: The first day of the winter session of the AP Assembly began on a stormy note and witnessed unprecedented situation where a controversy was created during the condolence motion. The leader of the opposition Y S Jaganmohan Reddy said that if the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had taken the Tirupati MLA M Venkataramana with him to Singapore for treatment, there would have been no need for the condolence motion. This provoked angry reactions from the treasury benches.

Earlier the Chief Minister had said the MLA's family initially wanted to take him to Singapore for treatment of his heart ailment, but subsequently he was taken to Apollo hospital in Chennai as the situation warranted. He underwent a bypass surgery but succumbed because of post-operation complications," he informed. Venkataramana's death was a big loss for the TDP, he noted.

Jagan also attracted Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao's wrath after he sought to cast aspersions on him in the House. Jagan alleged that the Speaker was trying to "insult" him by not allowing him to speak after the CM, on the condolence motion. He said it was a tradition that the Leader of Opposition speaks after the Leader of the House. But the chair deliberately denied him an opportunity. “It is a bad precedent,” he said.

The Speaker said: “Don't make an issue out of it. Soon after the CM spoke, I turned to you. But you did not respond, so I let other members from your party. They also did not say you wanted to speak. I was under the impression that you had asked them to speak since they too were from Tirupati," he explained.

Defeat YSRCP designs: CM

Holds TDLP meeting, asks leaders to brace up

Hyderabad: CM and TDP chief N Chandrababau Naidu on Thursday instructed his Cabinet colleagues and MLAs to thwart the Opposition YSRCP’s attempts to corner the government on different issues in the Winter Session. Naidu held the TDLP meeting after the first day session ended at the party office. He asked the members to prepare thoroughly and counter the Opposition on issues particularly the farmers’ and DWCRA members’ loan waiver scheme, establishment of new capital city and the implementation of welfare schemes for poor. Sources said the Chief Minister also informed the MLAs that the offices of the government departments would be shifted to Vijayawada by the next financial year. He told the Ministers to speed up the development programmes launched by the government in all constituencies in coordination with the local MLAs.