VIJAYAWADA: Protests by the Opposition TDP against the GO 2430 rocked the State Assembly on the fourth day of the winter session. Question Hour proceedings in the House were marred on Thursday when TDP MLAs alleged that marshals obstructed them from entering the Assembly. Countering the opposition charge, the ruling YSRC MLAs demanded an apology from the Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu for calling Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy ‘Unmadi’ (psycho).
TDP chief Naidu, along with his party MLAs and MLCs, came in a protest rally to the Assembly demanding abolition of GO 2430. He also questioned the imposition of curbs on three TV channels from covering Assembly proceedings. The TDP MLAs and MLCs were stopped at the Assembly gate, but were allowed later following heated arguments with the marshals.
Lodging a complaint with Speaker Tammineni Sitaram, TDP deputy floor leader K Atchannaidu said, “We were stopped at the gate for 40 minutes and even manhandled by the marshals though we left the placards and banners outside the Assembly. The marshals even snatched our black badges.” Minister for Legislative Affairs Buggana Rajendranath Reddy took objection to it and said it was the TDP members who manhandled the marshals and they came in a preplanned manner to obstruct the Assembly proceedings.
Atchannaidu hit back, stating that a YSRC member behaved in an unruly manner in the House and even broke mikes when the party was in the opposition. “If you prove that your people did not mar Assembly proceedings by staging protests while in the opposition, I will resign,” he dared.
Naidu explained how he and other TDP MLAs were obstructed at the Assembly gate. The TDP chief said he was obstructed by the new chief marshal and claimed that he misbehaved with the party MLCs. Defending the GO 2430 issued by his government delegating powers to the secretaries of the departments concerned to issue rejoinders and file defamation cases against the media, Jagan said the GO was issued with the sole intention of exercising its democratic right to protect its image from being tarnished by the reports published or telecast with mala fide intentions.