VIJAYAWADA: AP Legislative Council witnessed pandemonium on Friday over a remark that agriculture activities are a waste of time, with TD members trooping into the well and demanding an apology from the ruling YSRC members and withdrawal of such statements from the house records.
As chairman K.M. Raju took up Question Hour and members started to raise questions and began getting replies from ministers, YSRC MLC Aruna Kumar rose to say the previous TD government treated agriculture a waste. His was an oblique reference to former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu’s observations on agriculture.
There were heated arguments in the council between the rival sides. TD MLCs led by Nara Lokesh trooped into the well and raised their objection over the MLC’s remarks and stressed they did not say so. The MLC must apologise and the chairman must expunge the remarks from the records, they demanded.
The chairman asked the TD members to calm down by saying no party’s or leader’s name was mentioned by the MLC in this context.
As the situation was going out of control, education minister Botsa Satyanarayana intervened and said former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu had, in his book ‘Manasulo Mata’, stated that practising agriculture and providing free power to farmers were of no news and providing houses to the poor too was wrong.
Lokesh raised objection to this and said the YSRC members must show proof by bringing the book to the house. The chairman inquired with the TD members whether they were having a copy of the book.
Minister for water resources Ambati Rambabu wondered as to why the TD members aimed for a self-goal on the issue and blamed them for burning the book and their manifesto so that they need not worry about their implementation.
Leader of the opposition in the council Yanamala Ramakrishnudu said that it was not a good practice to use provocative words and wanted the business in the council to be held as per norms.
