Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) floor leader in the Assembly P. Vishnu Kumar Raju walked out in a huff when Speaker Kodela Siva Prasad Rao rejected his request to speak on the short discussion on the Polavaram project on Wednesday.
After permitting several Telugu Desam MLAs to speak on the issue, Dr. Siva Prasad Rao asked BJP MLA Akula Satyanarayana to speak.
Two Ministers
not present
The BJP has four members in the Assembly. Two of them who have been given berths in the Cabinet — Kamineni Srinivas and Pydikonda Manikyala Rao — were not present at the time. The floor leader of the party, who is usually present, was not in his seat. He was, in fact, chatting with Dr. Satyanarayana when the Speaker asked the latter to speak.
Awkward moment
Mr. Vishnu Kumar Raju returned came to his seat and signalled to the Speaker through his attendant that he be given an opportunity. Dr. Siva Prasad Rao said that Dr. Satyanarayana was given the chance to speak on behalf of the party.
Mr. Vishnu Kumar Raju, however, did not give up and stood up to speak when Water Resources Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao’s turn came. When Dr. Siva Prasad Rao asked the Minister to go ahead and make his statement, the BJP MLA walked out in a huff. There was a moment of awkwardness when Mr. Raju gathered his things to leave. The Minister and even the Speaker asked him to stay and address the Assembly.
Mr. Raju finally had his way when he was allowed to speak after the Chief Minister spoke.
