ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Entire Opposition, including BJP, suspended for a day in AP

In an unprecedented move, the entire Opposition in the Andhra Pradesh assembly was today suspended for obstructing the proceedings of the House over the controversial electricity reforms bill, amid uproarious scenes.

The suspended members belonged to the Congress, the Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Bharatiya Janata Party, Majlis and NTR-Telugu Desam Party.

Barring two Congress members who were suspended for the rest of the session, the rest of the members have been suspended for the day. Congress MLAs T Jeevan Reddy and D Nagender were suspended for the rest of the session for physically attacking a ruling TDP member on the floor of the House.

Legislative Affairs Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju, who moved the motion, said the members were being suspended for gross disorder while. Jeevan Reddy and Nagender were suspended for physically attacking the ruling party members on the floor of the House.

The current session is scheduled to end tomorrow.

Soon after the suspension, Speaker Y Ramakrishnudu summoned the marshals to evict the suspended members from the House.

However, some suspended members remained in the well of the House and shouted slogans.

Among the suspended members were floor leaders of the Opposition parties, including Lakshmi Parvathi of the NTR-TDP.

As soon as the House assembled for the day, uproarious scenes were witnessed as the entire Opposition rushed to the podium charging that the manner in which the bill seeking to restructure the state electricity board was introduced by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu yesterday, was against the assembly's rules and procedures.

An adjournment motion on the issue was disallowed by the speaker.

Ramakrishnudu repeatedly told the members that the bill was introduced in a proper way and there was no need to reopen it. If the members wanted to protest they could do so when the bill came up for consideration.

The speaker said Naidu had sought the chair's permission to introduce the bill.

He said he had verified the records of yesterday's proceedings, which revealed that the bill had already been introduced and there was no need to reopen the issue as demanded by the Opposition members.

The Opposition members then raised slogans like ''we want justice'' while staging a dharna in the well of the House.

At one stage, the ruling TDP members rushed menacingly towards the well when Jeevan Reddy and Nagender (both Congress) picked up papers from the assembly staff's tables and threw them at the Treasury benches.

The House also witnessed jostling between the Congress and the ruling TDP members. Two of the suspended members, including former minister Jeevan Reddy, later complained to the speaker that the marshals had handled them roughly and showed the minor injuries suffered by them.

A group of suspended members including Congress legislature party leader P Janardhana Reddy and Lakshmi Parvathi staged a dharna for a while near the main entrance of the assembly building complex.

The issue rocked the state assembly yesterday also when Naidu introduced the bill leading to the adjournment of the House on three occasions. The House was adjourned abruptly for the day ahead of schedule.

The House later took up the discussion on the bill, on a motion moved by Major Irrigation Minister T Nageswara Rao.

Initiating the discussion, T Keshav (TDP) said the bill was intended to ensure adequate power supply in future. No development was possible without power, he added.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report