VIJAYAWADA: The State Legislative Assembly was adjourned amid dramatic developments on Wednesday. It all started after Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy’s clarification on various issues raised by members on the Budget.
After Buggana’s speech, Speaker Tammineni Sitaram allowed Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu to speak when the latter raised his hand. As Naidu started his speech, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy intervened and said that during the past five years he had never come across the practice of the Leader of Opposition speaking after the Finance Minister’s clarification.
“This is happening for the first time. We have no problem if you (Speaker) want to change the procedure. That is up to you to take a decision. We have no objection if you let him speak, but later you have to give us time to rebut his ‘lies’ effectively,’’ Jagan said. However, Naidu, urging the Chief Minister to verify the records, observed that Jagan appeared unaware of the procedure. Agreeing with the Leader of the House (Jagan), Speaker Tammineni said, “I gave a chance to Naidu as per his demand.”
TDP deputy floor leader K Atchannaidu urged the Speaker to verify the records.When the Speaker said that he was aware of the tradition, Atchannaidu suggested that it was better for him to check the records as there had been some gap in his political career (indicating that Tammineni lost elections earlier and had not been in the House for 15 years).Insisting that he was aware of the tradition despite the gap, the Speaker adjourned the House to Friday and went into his chambers in a huff.