Independent legislator Gollapalli Srinivas Ashok, an associated member of ruling BJP in the Assembly, on Wednesday expressed his displeasure at not being allocated MLA office in his Yanam constituency.
While raising a query on his pending plea to the government for sanctioning of office building at Yanam, Mr. Ashok said he had been asking the government for about a year now on the issue without any results. He said a former legislator of Yanam continued to use a government building allocated to him. If the building was given to him, he could meet the public to listen to their grievances.
Replying to the Independent legislator, Minister for Public Works K. Lakshminarayanan (AINRC) said the works utility had taken an estimate for construction of a building to house MLA office at Yanam. To this, Mr. Ashok said till the new building was constructed he should be allowed to function from the office used by the former Minister.
Mr. Lakshminarayanan said the former Minister was now the Special Representative, Government of Puducherry, in New Delhi. “The Independent legislator, should read the notification appointing the former legislator as Special Representative. He enjoys the privileges of a Deputy Speaker. The MLA should not insist on getting a particular place. The government will allot office building for the member,” he said.
Mr. Ashok, who defeated Chief Minister N. Rangasamy from Yanam where he contested as a second seat, said a sitting legislator has been overlooked because of other reasons. Soon, BJP legislators led by PML Kalyanasundaram, two other Independents associated with the saffron party in the Assembly, M. Sivasankar and P. Angalane, were on their feet criticising the stand of the government.
They said Mr. Ashok was victimised for his victory against Chief Minister and for supporting the BJP. As tempers ran high, Speaker R. Selvam refrained the members from continuing with the issue.
