VIJAYAWADA: YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has approached the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking its directions to the Assembly Speaker and secretary general to accord him the Leader of the Opposition status in the State Assembly as per law.
Making Assembly Speaker Ch Ayyannapatrudu and Minister of Finance and Legislative Affairs Payyavula Keshav as respondents in the case, Jagan stated that the Speaker is silent on giving him the Leader of Opposition status.
He urged the High Court not to allow the discretionary powers of the Speaker in the case and to apply constitutional principles. He accused the State government of using official machinery for political benefits and pointed out increased attacks on YSRC activists and leaders.
Stating that the status of LoP is given on capability and not based on numbers, YS Jagan said the opposition is the voice of the voiceless. He said there are several examples where LOP status was given to the leader of the party which has even secured less than 10 % of seats, not just in the Parliament, but in other States as well. He cited the example of LOP status to P Janardhan Reddy in spite of Congress winning only 26 seats out of 294 seats in the 1994 elections.
The YSRC chief accused the State government of denying him the status of LoP intentionally to mute the voice of the people in his petition.