The Opposition mounted pressure on the ruling party in the Assembly on Thursday saying it had come to power solely because of the largesse doled out by it on the eve of the election and, therefore, it was duty bound to fulfil the expectations of people.
The lone CPI member, D. Ravindra Kumar, succinctly brought out the views of the Opposition during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor’s address as he said the last two days of the election campaign turned the tables in favour of TRS. Hence, people were swayed by its promises.
Congress MLA D.S. Redya Naik went a step further by saying the Opposition could not “manage” youth and farmers whose aspirations were fuelled by promises of TRS to give jobs and waive loans respectively. He also said 80 per cent of youth in villages worked for the victory of TRS. They also forced their parents to vote for TRS. Even Anganwadi workers visited every household and campaigned for TRS.
The treasury and Opposition benches were vertically divided during the debate which was initiated by TRS MLA Konda Surekha. She said the Governor’s address reflected the vision of the Government which was committed to fulfilling all election promises, including waiver of farm loans up to Rs. 1 lakh.
However, Congress MLA of Gadwal, D.K. Aruna, expressed disappointment that the address failed to provide clarity on any of the issues envisaged by the government. Drawing attention to farmers’ suicides due to their fears about loans not being waived, she said it was an unfortunate situation when Telangana was celebrating State formation.
Several speakers of the Opposition raised doubts during the six-hour long debate about how the Government proposed to implement the promises since the Governor’s speech did not reflect them. BJP floor leader K. Laxman was critical that the government tried to appease minorities by extending 12 per cent reservation.
The debate witnessed an argument between Legislative Affairs Minister T. Harish Rao and Congress legislature party leader K. Jana Reddy over a remark by the former that the government was only days old and its offices had not even opened. Mr. Reddy retorted, “Then, why did you convene the Assembly?”
Mr. Rao said it was an unsavoury remark because the House was convened mainly to administer oath to the newly elected members.
