Vijayawada: The overenthusiasm of police at the parking area and the Assembly lobbies this morning has irked the legislators and media. However, the Assembly authorities blamed the media, saying that more than 800 media passes led to the commotion. Police, in uniform, reached the Assembly lobby, which is not a tradition, said several legislators. The commotion ensued when a scribe parked his vehicle at the media parking slot in the morning and was heading to Gate No. 3, the entry point for the media people.
An Inspector rank officer, Rajesh, rushed to him and asked him rudely as to why he parked his vehicle against the rules. The scribe told the Inspector that there was no place to reverse the vehicle but that it was parked in the right place only. Soon the Inspector’s colleagues reached the place and tried to convince Mr Rajesh but in vain. Meanwhile, there was another incident in the Assembly lobby when some police, in uniform, and marshals urged the mediapersons to vacate the place as they were disturbing the calmness there.
This was objected by a section of the senior journalists. The Assembly authorities said that more than 800 media passes were issued to various people who even do not have any publications to report. There was no orderliness even at the gallery where the Budget copies were distributed, despite the presence of CMO and I&PR personnel. Several senior journalists were not provided with Budget copies and the other important material distributed during the Budget presentation by Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu.
There was commotion in the gallery for Budget copies even while the finance minister’s speech was still on in the Assembly. The commotion made Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu remark, though in a lighter vein, in the press conference, that the strength of the mediapersons seems to be more than that strength of the legislators in the Assembly of Andhra Pradesh.
