Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and YSR Congress MLAs from Seemandhra indulged in a game of one-upmanship in the Assembly and outside all through the day on Monday, each one trying to emerge as a sole champion of united Andhra Pradesh.
It all began with a group of TDP MLAs including D. Uma Maheswara Rao rushing to the media point on the Assembly premises as soon as the Speaker Nadendla Manohar announced tabling of the draft AP Reorganisation Bill in the House.
Displaying the copy of the bill, Mr. Rao angrily tore it off in front of the media persons even while his colleague D. Narendra Kumar explained how the rules of the Assembly were violated in the sudden introduction of the Bill. Another TDP MLA Ch. Prabhakar joined Mr. Rao in tearing of the Bill.
YSRC MLAs had planned to tear the copies of the Bill in the House, but they did not get the opportunity to do so as the Speaker announced that these were made available at the facilitation centre in the lobbies of the Assembly, sources said. TDP members, in an attempt to upstage them, took the copies and rushed to the media point. Having missed the first chance, the YSRC members led by G. Srikant Reddy not only tore the copies but burnt them even as the media persons tried to snatch the copies away from them.
Later when the Speaker adjourned the House for the second time leading to a long break, Seemandhra TDP members staged a sit-in in Speaker’s chamber protesting the way the Bill was introduced. They were joined by some Congress members. For some reason, YSRC MLAs did not follow them as before they could take a decision, Telangana MLAs cutting across party lines staged a demonstration outside the Speaker’s chamber demanding immediate discussion on the Bill. Not to be outdone, later in the day, YSRC floor leader Y.S. Vijayalakshmi gave a notice to the Speaker seeking leave for moving a resolution in favour of united Andhra Pradesh under Assembly Rule 77.
