TD stages a walkout from mock Assembly

VIJAYAWADA: Opposition Telugu Desam which boycotted the one-day Assembly budget session on Thursday conducted a mock Assembly to awaken people about the failures of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. Interestingly, its members staged a walk-out from the mock assembly in protest against the 'anti-people and tyrannical' policies being pursued by the YSRC government at a time when the people were suffering greatly due to the unchecked Covid infections.

Mock Assembly Speaker D.B.V. Swamy struggled hard to control the members. Stormy scenes were witnessed in the 'mock assembly' as the Opposition members relentlessly raised slogans and held up placards, criticising the Chief Minister's indifference. They said the CMs of neighbouring states were taking proactive steps and taking the Opposition leaders along with them. Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin consulted Opposition leaders and announced Rs 4,000 financial assistance to white ration cardholders. Telangana CM K. Chandrashekar Rao visited Covid patients at Gandhi Hospital. But, the AP CM was not coming out of his Tadepalli residence, it was stated.

TD MLA K. Atchannaidu slammed the Chief Minister for making meaningless statements in the Assembly on Thursday on relations between Bharat Biotech management and TD chief N. Chandrababu Naidu. It was not befitting a person of CM capacity to cast aspersions on a vaccine manufacturer at this critical time. The government allocated a meagre Rs 45 crore for the purchase of vaccines. It spent Rs 3,000 crore on colouring public buildings but was not ready to spend Rs 1,600 crore on the free vaccination to all in AP, he said.

MLAs Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary and Nimmala Ramanaidu accused the CM of totally failing in the crisis management. They demanded all the deaths of Covid patients on account of oxygen shortage and lack of beds be deemed as 'government murders.'