Congress, TRS clash in Assembly

A blatant remark against congress MLAs by Minister for Energy, G. Jagadish Reddy that Congress members 'licked the boots of people from Andhra' and that they were 'subservient to late Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy' led to an uproar in the Telangana Assembly on Wednesday.

The flash point occurred during the Question Hour on a discussion raised by Congress members D.K. Aruna and Chittem Ram Mohan Reddy on thermal power projects in Mahbubnagar District.

Decrying the tone and tenor of Jagadish Reddy's reply, Congress member G. Chinna Reddy said that as a first-time MLA who had become a Minister with the blessings of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, the latter would do well if he was more restrained.

Jagadish Reddy flew into rage and said 'I became an MLA with the trust reposed in him by voters and found a berth in the Cabinet due to the blessings of Chandrasekhar Rao. I did not lick the boots of people from Andhra and was not be a slave of YSR."

Enraged at the Minister's words, Congress members stormed the well demanding an apology. Speaker S. Madhusudhana Chary kept repeatedly urging the agitated members to resume their seats but his words went unheeded.

Minister for Legislative Affairs T. Harish Rao said if the Congress members wanted to speak, they could take the microphone instead of rushing towards the Speaker's podium. Congress MLA Sampath Kumar later said until the Minister Jagadish Reddy tendered an apology, they would not relent.