Furore in AP Assembly over Naidu's review meetings

Furore in AP Assembly over Naidu's review meetings
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

HYDERABAD, SEPT 10: Noisy scenes prevailed in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly today with Opposition Congress members storming the podium and staging a noisy demonstration, accusing Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu of abusing his office by deliberately keeping out the Opposition members from his daily review meetings with legislators.

Raising the issue after Zero Hour, Congress Floor Leader Y S Rajasekhar Reddy made a scathing attack on Naidu for being "partisan" as he was was not inviting Opposition members for his "Face to Face" programme with MLAs in the Assembly.

Amid noisy protests from Treasury benches, Reddy alleged that only ruling TDP legislators had been attending the meetings where officials were being summoned to take note of the constituency problems brought forward by the members.

The issue triggered heated exchanges with Congress members stalling proceedings for over an hour and squatting in the podium.

They staged a sit-in protest in the well and raised slogans demanding that Chief Minister come to the House and clarify the matter.

Naidu later asserted that there was no discrimination against any member and all legislators, irrespective of their party affiliation, could come to him and help him resolve pending issues pertaining to their respective constituencies.

Tempers ran high as Naidu and the Opposition leader got engaged in a bitter war of words and accused each other of politicising developmental issues.

While the Chief Minister asserted that nobody could takeaway his right to meet people's representatives at any forum, Rajasekhar Reddy alleged Naidu was flouting rules and conventions by converting the official review meetings into a party affair.

"Never in the past had any Chief Minister been so biased. Even `Janmabhoomi' programme has been turned into a TDP affair while Central schemes are being camouflaged as state government programmes," Reddy alleged.

He wondered whether Naidu was prepared to summon district collectors and offials and issue similar orders on solving the grievances of constituencies represented by Congress members.

The slanging match acquired political overtones with theopposition leader remarking that TDP could return to power in the state only at the mercy of BJP and the +Vajpayee factor+ while Naidu hit back at him saying that people had rejected the leadership of Sonia Gandhi.

I am prepared for a National debate on the poll outcome.You (Congress) better ponder over reasons behind Sonia Gandhi's failure to garner seats for you,+ Naidu said in a combative tone.

He said the opposition leader was indirectly acceptingthe failure of his party leadership by saying that +Vajpayee factor+ had proved beneficial for TDP in the state.