YCP, TDP MLAs clash in AP Assembly

Vijayawada: Ugly scenes marred the proceedings in Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly for the first time post bifurcation following a group clash between the members of ruling YSRCP and main Opposition TDP at Amaravati on Monday.

As the day's proceedings commenced for the seventh day as part of an ongoing budget session, the rival groups clashed. In the melee that followed, YSRCP accused the TDP of attacking Speaker Thammineneni, the latter accused the treasury benches of assaulting their member Dr DolaSree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy.

Leader of Opposition and TDP national president N Chandrababu Naidu said the alleged attack on Swamy, a two-time Dalit MLA from Kondapi, was pre-planned with the encouragement from Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. Senior MLA and Minister Butchaiah Choudhary claimed outside the House that Swamy fell from the podium due to the physical assault by the YSRCP members.

He alleged that when the attack was taking place, the Speaker without intervening, adjourned the House with the situation going out of control. In the din that followed, a free for all situation prevailed in the House. Both groups were jostled with each other amid ear-splitting cacophony.

Right from the day one of the session, when the Governor addressed the joint session of the Legislature, the TDP MLAs were placed under suspension under the charge of creating pandemonium and not maintaining the decorum of the House.

YSRCP leaders said their MLAs shielded the Speaker when TDP members ran to his podium and tried to attack him to exhibit their muscle power. "Our MLAs only tried to thwart their attempts to safeguard a constitutional entity," Minister for Legislative Affairs and Finance Buggana Rajendranath said. Deputy Chief Minister K Narayana Swamy, Minister for Municipal Administration Adimulapu Suresh and Transport Minister Pinipe Viswarup alleged that as part of a plan, the TDP members wanted to create trouble in the House by attacking the Speaker.

Darkest day: Naidu

Reacting to the incident, Chandrababu Naidu described the alleged attack on his party MLA as the 'darkest day' in the history of the Assembly. "Never in the history of Andhra Pradesh has an MLA been attacked inside the House and today is the darkest day in the Assembly's history,” he said in a statement.

The TDP leader said Jagan will remain as a tainted Chief Minister who spoiled the image of the legislative bodies and felt that with the physical attack on the MLA right on the floor of the House, the people clearly understood the policies of the YSRCP. Terming the ongoing session of the Assembly as a 'Kaurava Sabha', Naidu alleged that Jagan has gone totally mad with the latest results of the elections to the Legislative Council.