YSRCP to boycott Andhra Pradesh Assembly session from November 11

The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has decided to boycott the Andhra Pradesh State Assembly Budget session scheduled to start on November 11.

Addressing a press conference at the YSRCP office at Tadepalli near here on Thursday, YSRCP president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed that attending the Assembly session was of little use given the ruling dispensation’s intention to suppress the Opposition voice.

“The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government doesn’t want the Opposition to discuss public issues. Hence, it is unwilling to recognise the YSRCP as the Opposition party and its leader as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP). The YSRCP MLAs will get a mere two minutes each, and in the absence of the LoP status, required time will not be given to discuss the public issues,” he said, adding, “Also, the Graduate MLC election is coming up. Since there is no possibility of conducting the session democratically, we have decided to boycott the Assembly session.” 

Referring to the Saraswati Power issue, Mr. Jagan said Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan was making issue out of nothing, and baseless allegations. “In 2015, the central government amended a law. Let me read out the rules and regulations regarding mining leases. They grant mining leases for up to 50 years anywhere. In fact, after Chandrababu Naidu became Chief Minister in 2014, he cancelled the mining lease. The court stayed the government’s decision in 2015, but in 2019, it also ruled in my favour.  The neighbouring Bhavya Cements people bought lands at ₹50,000 per acre. They bought it for anywhere between ₹50,000 and ₹90,000. A year later, we bought at not less than ₹3 lakh per acre right next to it. I told them to hold a Gram Sabha and ask the people how much they wanted. In that meeting, the farmers asked for ₹2.75 lakh per acre, and I said I would give ₹3 lakh. We bought the land at that price,” he said. 

The former Chief Minister said: “It’s surprising to hear the Deputy Chief Minister say that law and order has deteriorated in the State. They even refer to the Home Minister, who is a Dalit. Mr. Pawan Kalyan has no courage to point finger at Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who holds the Law and Order (L&O) portfolio, but is training his guns against a Dalit leader.”

Published - November 07, 2024 08:21 pm IST