Telugu Desam walks out from Assembly on first day

Vijayawada: Telugu Desam held a walkout on the first day of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly’s Budget session, expressing dissatisfaction over the security curbs in the legislature premises and alleging that the government was telling lies in the house.

The budget session started with an address by governor Justice S Abdul Nazeer to the joint session of assembly and council on Monday. The TD sought to disrupt the address.

TD legislators raised slogans, alleging that the YSRC government was forcing the governor speak lies in the house.

When the governor stated that the government was reimbursing total fees under the Jagananna Vidya Deevena scheme, the TD members raised slogans and termed it a lie. They also disputed the claim that 17 new government medical colleges and hospitals were established in the state during the term of the present government.

Ruling party members also raised slogans of ‘Jai Jagan’ to counter the sloganeering by TD members. The opposition legislators staged a walk-out protesting against what they called lies of the government. They said they were no longer able to digest the lies from this government.

The TD MLAs and MLCs raised slogans in the assembly lobbies while coming out of the hall. They sat in protest in the assembly premises but the security officials asked them to move away as the governor was to come out through the same exit.

Earlier in the day, the TD legislators reached the assembly in a rally. Holding a banner and carrying placards, they raised slogans of ‘Bye Bye Jagan’. TD leader Kinjerapu Atchannaidu said this was the last legislature session of Jagan Reddy and demanded that he apologise to the people for his “misrule.” He predicted that people will send Jagan Mohan Reddy home after the coming elections.

The TD legislators expressed dissatisfaction with the YSRC government over police posts and barricades around the assembly premises. They expressed concern about the non-release of job calendars and the delay in completing the Polavaram project among other burning issues.

They asserted that the Jagan Reddy-ruled state government has failed Andhra Pradesh and there is nothing to be discussed anymore.

Hindupur MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna also criticised the Jagan Mohan Reddy administration for “using police force to suppress the opposition.”