VIJAYAWADA : TDP senior leader Chintakayala Ayyanna Patrudu was elected unanimously as the Speaker of the 16th Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Pro-tem Speaker Gorantla Buchaiah Chowdary announced the unanimous election of Ayyanna Patrudu as the Speaker on Saturday as no others filed nomination for the post.
Chief Minister and leader of the House N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister and JSP president Pawan Kalyan, Health Minister and BJP leader Y Satya Kumar Yadav and Minister K Atchannaidu escorted Ayyanna Patrudu to the Speaker’s Chair and congratulated him on assuming the charge.
Meanwhile, the YSRC MLAs did not attend the proceedings on the second and final day of the session, drawing criticism from the treasury benches.
Expressing happiness over the election of the senior most leader as the Speaker, Chief Minister Naidu accused the previous government of causing great damage to the reputation of the House by making it a platform to abuse and character assassination.
In his maiden address to the House, Naidu regretted that the previous ruling dispensation turned the Assembly as a ‘Kaurava Sabha’ only to level baseless allegations passing highly objectionable comments against the leaders and even their family members.
Recalling the highly derisive comments made against the then Opposition (TDP) with arrogance and egoism that the party could win only 23 Assembly seats, Naidu said that now the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 164 seats which comes to 1+6+4=11 that the YSRC has won. This is the number that the YSRC has inside the Assembly, he added.
Pointing out the comments made against the Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan that the YSRC would not allow him even to touch the gates of the Assembly, Naidu said that now the JSP has emerged victorious in all the 21 seats that the party has contested. “Pawan Kalyan knows where to win and where to bow down,” the Chief Minister remarked.
In an oblique reference to the YSRC, the Chief Minister stated that the people have given a mere 11 seats to the party which claimed ‘why not 175’ and said that this is God’s script. Alerting the members in the House not to function with arrogance, Naidu told them to utilise the floor of the House only to discuss the people’s problems.
Informing the MLAs that the whole State is observing what the members discuss on the floor of the House, he regretted that when some objectionable comments were made against him and his family members on the floor during the previous regime he was not given the mike even to protest.
Recalling about the bomb attack on him in Tirupati, Naidu said even at that time too he did not have any regrets. “But, I was pained a lot when the then ruling party leaders on the floor of the House passed highly objectionable comments against my wife who does not have any connections with politics”, Naidu recalled.
Underscoring the need for taking debates on the floor of the House without giving scope for abuses and individual remarks, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan opined that differing and arguing on a policy or an Act take the debate to the next level.
Taking a dig at the absence of the YSRC in the House, Pawan Kalyan said that they have received the victory in 2019 but couldn’t take the defeat in the similar manner.
Several Ministers including Nara Lokesh, Y Satya Kumar Yadav, Vangalapudi Anitha and MLAs from both the TDP and BJP recalled their association with Ayyanna Patrudu and hailed his long political career and exuded hope that he will run the proceedings of the House in a dignified manner.
Thanking all those who extend their congratulations, Ayyanna Patrudu said that though he was elevated to the Speaker’s Chair, he will not forget the fact that the TDP is everything for him.
Finding fault with the YSRC for not attending the House, he made mockery of criticism of YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and the Opposition leaders saying that after having several cases pending against him, Jagan could not preach vedas.