Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

A.P. Opposition stalls question hour

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD MARCH 5. A charged-up Opposition led by the Congress stalled question hour in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday, demanding sacking of the Information Minister, S. Chandramohan Reddy, and suspension of the Nellore Collector for making a `mockery of democratic conventions.'

The question hour had to be postponed as their noisy protest continued for more than two hours. The Congress and the CPI (M) members trooped in wearing black shawls and holding aloft newspaper clippings on the meeting of the Minister with party functionaries and the Nellore Collector on the Assembly premises on Tuesday.

They said the Minister had dishonoured the directive of the Speaker and invited outsiders to a meeting on the premises of the House and thereby infringed upon Constitutional provisions. "The axe must fall on the Minister and the Collector and the Congress would serve a privilege notice too on the issue."

Arguing with the Speaker for disallowing their adjournment motion on the issue (the CPI (M) also served one), the Leader of the Opposition, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, said that if the Minister was interested in discussing drought, he should have invited the Congress MLAs, not his party functionaries.

The repeated pleas of the Speaker failed to pacify the agitated members who reiterated their demand for action against the Minister, and despite the Speaker's ruling, the arguments went on with the Minister for Legislative Affairs, Y. Ramakrishnudu, defending the Minister's action. The Ministers had every right to summon officials and the latter were accountable to the Government, he said, and urged the Congress members to withdraw their remarks casting aspersions on the Speaker.

The BJP floor leader, N. Indrasena Reddy, intervened to say that Congress members could choose other democratic forms of protest as a discussion on drought was pending before the House. The CPI (M) member, N. Narsimhaiah, and the MIM member, Asaduddin Owaisi, toed the Congress line, and urged the Speaker to reprimand the Minister. Mr. Narsimhaiah said the Government was making backdoor allocations instead of taking every member into confidence.

M.V. Mysoora Reddy (Cong.) cited a letter written by a Telugu Desam leader to the Cuddapah Collector and said developmental works were being undertaken under the guidance of TD functionaries and elected MLAs of Opposition parties had no role.

Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy gave the option to the Speaker of either yielding to their demand or suspending the Opposition members and running the House with TD functionaries, particularly those defeated by the Congress in the last elections. The party would not yield till then, he said.

Meanwhile, TDP members, countering the Opposition onslaught, raised slogans demanding a discussion on drought.

Finally, Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy agreed to hold back the Opposition protest in view of the seriousness of the drought, provided the ruling party came out with a statement on Thursday.

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