Leader of Opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy and his party MLAs on Friday squatted on the road against the backdrop of the impressive statue of Mahatma Gandhi, protesting against their being suspended from the House on Friday.
When repeated pleas asking them to participate in the discussion on Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary year went unheeded, Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao suspended 58 YSR Congress MLas for the duration of the discussion. The Opposition took another half an hour more to move out of the House.
After another 30 minutes of a strategy session held in Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy's ante room at the YSRC Legislature Party office, he led his MLAs out on to the road. Speaking to the media for the second time on Friday, he went through elaborate motions of brandishing pictures of the Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and other party leaders, including those in which they were seen with alleged accused in the call money scandal.
Referring to the ruling party's insistence on a discussion about how the 125th birth anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar should be celebrated, he wondered what the occasion was on Thursday noon, when Mr. Naidu sought a discussion on the same without any immediate need.
Mr. Reddy also held out for the cameras, printed papers on the Business Advisory Committee meeting and asked if they could see any reference being mooted on a discussion about Dr. Ambedkar. He alleged that Mr. Naidu had resorted to the extreme step of using even Dr. Ambedkar's name for his political ends, that at this point in time were to divert attention from the call money scam.
After half an hour, the Opposition went back to their office in the Assembly, even the Treasury benches went about the business they wished to conduct.
