YS Jagan says Speaker wants him dead, seeks leader of opposition status in AP Assembly

AMARAVATI: YSRCP legislative party leader and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged a nefarious plan by the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance to keep him away from the position of Leader of the opposition even though YSRCP is the second largest party in the State Assembly next to the alliance.

Explaining the sequence of the events that made him believe that the alliance wished to deny him the opportunity to speak on issues as a privileged LoP, Jagan said that on June 21, during the customary tradition of administering oath to the elected members of the Legislative Assembly, the traditional sequence was not followed.

“First, the leader of the august House, then the leader of the opposition, and then Ministers in the Cabinet and other MLAs should have taken oath. But I was called upon to be administered the oath only after the Ministers. The sequence followed leaves me with an impression that there is already a decision taken not to grant the status of leader of the opposition to me,” Jagan said.

He said that according to Section 12-B of the Andhra Pradesh Payment of Salaries and Pension and Removal of Disqualifications Act, 1953, YSRCP is the sole opposition party, to the ruling coalition comprising TDP-JSP-BJP, which combination was also a pre-electoral alliance.

“Having regard to the clear definition of the said term, there is no scope for any ambiguity as to the fact that YSRCLP is the principal and the only opposition party in the August House and its leader ought to be the LoP duly recognised as such by the Speaker,” Jagan observed.

The speaker has grudge against me

“It is in the public domain that the Speaker in a conversation which has since been published on YouTube, alluded to me as a “person defeated but not yet dead”, and that I should be beaten until I die”. A copy of the video is enclosed. The gloves are off as regards the hostilities displayed by the ruling combine towards me and imbibed by the Speaker,” Jagan said.

YSRCP secured a vote share of 40 percent in the recently concluded elections and he owed a duty to the people of Andhra Pradesh to represent their concerns on the floor of the august House. “Given the open and undisguised hostility exhibited by the leaders of the ruling

combine as also by the Speaker the YSRCLP is constrained to evaluate the utility of its participation in the proceedings of the august House if it is treated as a party with eleven MLAs with no status of Leader of Opposition,” he said.

He said that recognition of the floor leader of YSRCLP as the Leader of Opposition with the associated rights of addressing the matters of grave public concern, with due and sufficient time, would impart the necessary bi-partisanship to the proceedings of the House and the legitimacy of ensuring participation of divergent and opposing views on the policies of the Government.

He refuted arguments that he was not entitled to the position of Leader of Opposition on the ground that YSRCLP does not have 10 percent of the strength of the August House. “Article 208 of the Constitution of India does not prescribe any such mandatory percentage of seats to be secured by a political party for recognising its leader as Leader of Opposition,” Jagan said.

Giving instances whereby the undeniable opposition party to the Government was treated as such and its Leader was granted the Leader of Opposition, Jagan said that P. Upendra of TDP was granted the position of LoP in the Lok Sabha in the year 1984 even though TDP only secured 30 Seats out of a total of 543 Seats. And, P. Janardhana Reddy was accorded the position of LoP in the AP Legislative Assembly in the year 1994 even though the Indian National Congress (INC) Party only secured 26 out of a total of 294 seats. the Legislative Assembly of the State of Delhi in the year 2015, accorded the status of Leader of Opposition to the BJP even though they only secured three out of a total of 70 seats.

“Absent of such status and given the hostilities already displayed, my opportunities and duration of time to speak on public issues, would be at the mercy of the ruling combine which has an overwhelming majority and the discretion of the Honourable Speaker, who wishes to see me dead,” he said.