It was supposed to be the first day and a solemn occasion when legislators got a chance to speak by greeting newly elected Speaker Tammineni Sitaram on his elevation but it soon turned out to be a full-fledged war of words between the ruling YSRCP and the opposition Telugu Desam Party in what appeared to be a repeat of previous session of the House.
TDLP leader N. Chandrababu Naidu’s decision to send his deputy K. Atchannaidu (Tekkali) in his place to accompany Mr. Sitaram to the Speaker’s podium triggered an intense debate with YSRCP members alleging that by doing so, Mr. Naidu not only broke the convention but also showed his disrespect to the Backward Classes (BCs) to which Mr. Sitaram belongs.
Mr. Naidu said that neither the YSRCP informed him in advance about the selection of Mr. Sitaram nor pro tem Speaker Sambangi China Venkata Appala Naidu invited him to do the honours. Mr. Appala Naidu claimed that he had called the leader of the House and the leaders of other parties to accompany the Speaker to his chair and the Opposition party was twisting the facts.
Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy (Chandragiri) added fuel to fire by saying that Mr. Naidu sent Mr. Atchannaidu like a servant (‘bantrothu’) instead of following the tradition. He said Kodela Siva Prasada Rao was unfit to be the Speaker but the YSRCP had supported his candidature keeping the interests of the House in view. Reacting, Mr. Atchannaidu demanded that the Speaker make Mr. Bhaskar Reddy tender an apology for calling him ‘a servant,’ a charge which the YSRCP MLA denied, insisting that he only said ‘like a servant.’
Mr. Sitaram said he would get the remark expunged from the records in this session itself if it was found to be true.
‘Avoid acrimony’
The debate soon spilled over to other areas as Mr. Jagan charged Mr. Naidu with poaching YSRCP MLAs in the past and making some of them Ministers. Mr. Naidu hit back recalling how Mr. Jagan’s father, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy started it all by crossing over from Congress to “Reddy Congress.”
As the debate raged, Mr. Sitaram said up to 80% of the legislative business was transacted as per conventions (the balance went as per rules) and suggested that it was better to close the issue to avoid sending the wrong message that the MLAs were interested in outsmarting the opponents.
Nagari MLA R.K. Roja asserted that the TDP members have no right to speak about the dignity of the House.
