HYDERABAD, March 16: In an unprecedented incident in the annals of Andhra Pradesh Assembly, Governor C Rangarajan today abruptly ended his customary opening address to the House disapproving slogan-shouting and unruly behaviour of Congress members.The Governor closed his address within two minutes after commencement as Congress members, wearing black badges, rushed to the podium shouting slogans and tore away the speech copies. They even hurled one of the books at Rangarajan.
An exasperated Governor, who was addressing the AP Assembly for the first time, tried in vain to restrain the members. He waved his hand asking them to calm down and at one stage pointed his finger towards Congress members suggesting that their behaviour was not proper.
But nothing helped and Rangarajan, escorted by Speaker Y Ramakrishnudu, walked out after wishing the deliberations during the budget session all success. The belligerent Congress MLAs did not relent and attempted to obstruct the Governor's exit from the House. The Governor hardly read the first paragraph of the 36-page address before he decided to give up.The contention of the protesting Congress members was that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has no right to continue in office since the ruling party was rejected by the people in the recent Lok Sabha elections. Therefore, the Governor (representing the State government) had no moral right to address the House.
In informal chat with newsmen later, the speaker termed the happenings as unfortunate. The Governor was discharging a Constitutional obligation and the members should have allowed him to address the House. "They should inculcate self-discipline," he felt.
In the past too, opposition members tore away the Governor's address and walked out of the House. But this was perhaps the first time that they virtually surrounded the podium and even hurled the speech copy at the Governor.
Speaking to newsmen in the lobbies, several ministers demanded that the Congress members apologise for their unruly behaviour and the disrespect shown to the institution of Governor. "The Congress members acted like rowdies. The fact that they obstructed the proceedings even as copies of Governor's address were being circulated showed that it was all a pre-planned act," the ministers said. "Every member has a right to protest in a democratic manner. But the Congress MLAs exposed their culture with their unbecoming behaviour," ministers T Devender Goud, A Madhava Reddy, Kodela Sivaprasada Rao and S V Subba Reddy said.
The Congress members justified their action in stalling the Governor from addressing the House. "We have profound faith in the institution of governor. But we were compelled to take the extreme step as this government has lost the confidence of the people," CLP leader P Janardhan Reddy and others said. Reddy recalled that the chief minister himself had termed the Lok Sabha elections as a referendum on his government. Naidu should, therefore, respect the people's verdict and quit office, the Congress leader said.
The two Left parties -- CPI and CPM -- and the BJP felt that the Congress members should have allowed the Governor to complete his address before lodging their protest.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
