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While the Congress(I) took to the streets and boycotted the Telangana Assembly session that began on Friday, the YSR Congress Party is threatening to boycott the Assembly proceedings in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh (from November 10) if a decision is not taken on the status of 21 party legislators, who defected to the ruling Telugu Desam Party.
Defections have been a thorny issue in both the Telugu States since the bifurcation in 2014. Led by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao, the Telangana Rastra Samithi (TRS) came to power with 63 seats in the 119-member Legislative Assembly. It has managed to bolster its strength to 90 by poaching from the Opposition parties — the Telugu Desam, YSR Congress and the Congress (I).
In Andhra Pradesh, the TDP, led by N Chandrababu Naidu, and its BJP ally got 106 seats in the 175-member House. The YSR Congress, led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, won 67 seats, but defections have since reduced its strength to 46.
The Speakers of both Assemblies have remained silent on the defections and the fate of the defectors remains undecided in most cases.
Letter to President YSR Congress leader Jagan has shot off a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind urging him to intervene and stop what he called the ongoing mockery of parliamentary democracy in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Council where 21 defectors have been allotted seats in the Treasury Benches and four inducted to the Cabinet.
In the five-page letter, Jagan said, ‘The Legislature Party meeting has unanimously adopted a resolution seeking action against all the defectors and dropping four turncoats who were inducted into the Cabinet. Unless action is taken against them we cannot attend the Assembly session as we would be part of the mockery of the democracy.”
The party spokesperson, G Srikanth Reddy, said all 20 MLAs and one MLC should be suspended immediately to safeguard the democratic values and “we will not be attending the proceedings unless the Speaker and Chairman take action against them.”
The turmoil and defections have been happening in the Rayalseema districts. The recent polls to Nandyal saw the election of TDP candidate (Brahmananda Reddy), belonging to the Bhuma family, where the late Nagi Reddy and daughter Akhila Priya (now a Minister) both defected from the YSR Congress.
Similarly the loser Silpa Mohan Reddy and his brother Silpa Chakrapani Reddy crossed over from the TDP to the YSR Congress.
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