YSRC president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy urges Speaker to identify his party as the main opposition
Vijayawada: After suffering a ridiculous defeat, YSRC president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has written a letter to Speaker Ayyanapatrudu urging him to recognize the party as the main opposition in the Assembly.
The YSRC which won 151 seats in the 2019 elections was confined to a mere 11 seats in the recently concluded Assembly elections. With just 11 seats in its kitty, the YSRC could not secure the opposition party status too.
In the letter, Jagan Mohan Reddy pointed out that administering his oath after the Cabinet ministers was against the tradition. It seems that you have decided not to give the opposition party status to the YSRC but as per the law, the party which secures more seats after the ruling party should be identified as the main opposition, he said.
Jagan Mohan Reddy also mentioned that there is no rule stating that the opposition party should get at least 10% of votes. This rule has not been followed either in the Parliament or in United Andhra Pradesh.
The former CM lamented that the ruling coalition and the Speaker have been exhibiting enmity against him and his party members. "In such a situation, I feel I would not be allowed voice my opinions"
Further, he said that he would able to raise his voice on people's problems only if he is given the status of the Opposition party.
He reminded that during the 1984 election, the TDP won 30 MP seats of the total 543 seats. Though the TDP did not secure 10% of the seats, TDP's Parvataneni Upendra was identified as the Opposition leader, he said.
In United Andhra Pradesh, of the 294 seats, the Congress secured only 26 seats in 1994. Even then, P. Janardhan Reddy has been identified as the Opposition leader.
In 2015, during the Delhi Assembly elections, the BJP won only 3 seats of the total 70 seats, the party was identified as the main opposition.
Jagan Mohan Reddy said that he was writing the letter with a motive to fight for the people's cause and represent their grievances in the Assembly.
There will be an opportunity to participate in the Assembly proceedings only if identified as the main opposition party, he asserted.
He appealed to the Speaker to consider all the above grounds and do the needful.
