Andhra Pradesh

A.P. Minister against simultaneous polls

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister K. Rosaiah has expressed his opposition to simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and State Assembly in case elections to the former are advanced.

He told reporters here on Saturday that there was no need for simultaneous polls if elections to the Lok Sabha were to be held in October – November. However, elections could be held simultaneously if the Lok Sabha was to go to polls in February – March. This was strictly his personal view and he would present the same to Congress leadership if it was sought, he said.

The Finance Minister dismissed allegations of the opposition parties that Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy was biased against them in running the Assembly. He said Mr. Reddy was one of the best Speakers he had seen. Mr. Reddy was restrained, polished and conducted the proceedings with utmost patience. He never discriminated between the ruling and opposition parties. On the other hand, it was visible on TV screens how Telugu Desam members were instigated by their leader to rush to the Speaker’s podium but Mr. Reddy did not lose his cool.

Mr. Rosaiah criticised Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu’s claim that the waiver of crop loans proposed in the Union budget was a result of ‘Rytu garjana’ organised by his party at Vijayawada and asked him to organise more such rallies to invite bigger concessions for agriculture sector. He defended the budget as being election oriented saying every government undertook similar exercise in the final year of its term to earn the appreciation of people by giving them relief. The budget reflected the initiatives taken by the State government in agriculture sector.

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