Governor S. Abdul Nazeer addressing the joint session of the Andhra Pradesh Legislature on the first day of the Budget session on Tuesday as Assembly Speaker Thammineni Seetharam and Council Chairman K. Moshenu Raju look on.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
TDP MLCs and MLAs staged a walkout midway through Governor S. Abdul Nazeer’s address to a joint session of the Andhra Pradesh Legislature when he was making a reference to the purported achievements in the irrigation sector including the progress claimed to be made in the construction of Polavaram project, saying that they were all lies put together by the government.
Members of the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) raised ‘Jai Jagan’ slogans and thumped the desks in unison even as Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, K. Atchannaidu, Nimmala Rama Naidu and other MLCs and MLAs of the TDP strongly disapproved of the facts and figures narrated by Mr. Abdul Nazeer, who had to pause on several occasions to let the House calm down.
During his more than an hour-long address, the Governor made a detailed mention of the development and welfare schemes but the TDP MLCs and MLAs kept interrupting him, suggesting that he was just reading out the tall claims made by the government.
When Mr. Nazeer said that the government achieved a year-on-year GSDP growth rate of 11.43% in 2021-22 which was the highest among all States, the members of the Opposition rose from their seats shouting that the figures were manipulated, drawing an instant reaction from the ruling party.
Similarly, as Mr. Nazeer stated that the government provided 50% reservation for women in the local bodies, the TDP leaders pointed out that it was N.T. Rama Rao who had initiated the quota for women when he was the CM, for which credit was being taken by the present dispensation.
Further, as Mr. Nazeer made a mention of the Disha app meant to help women in distress, members of the TDP yelled that the Government of India has rejected the AP Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2019 (Disha Act) and it was being glossed over by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
Mr. Nazeer’s address was marred by the TDP members’ comments that there was no law and order in the State and that the large number of advisors appointed by the government were a drain on the exchequer as they were paid huge salaries for no praiseworthy work done by them.
They also said paddy was not being procured and the farmers were deprived of minimum support prices for their produce. The TDP MLCs and MLAs eventually walked out in a huff as Mr. Nazeer started highlighting the irrigation projects, by saying that there was no irrigation at all and the government was painting a rosy picture that was far from reality.
Earlier, Legislative Council chairman K. Moshenu Raju, Assembly Speaker Thammineni Seetharam and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy welcomed Mr. Abdul Nazeer into the Assembly hall. The joint session began at 10 a.m. as per schedule. The Council and the Assembly will be meeting at 9 a.m. on March 15 in the run-up to the presentation of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government’s last full-fledged budget (for FY 2023-24) later this week.
