Drama At Assembly: TDP MLAs Protest Power Crisis

High political drama was witnessed in the premises of the state Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, when Telugu Desam Party legislators tried to stage a dharna over the issue of the power crisis.

After holding a meeting of the Telugu Desam Legislature Party, about 35 TDP MLAs and MLCs tried to stage a dharna before the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the Assembly premises.

However, the legislators were prevented from going towards the Gandhi statue by security personnel. Agitated over the denial of permission, the TDP MLAs staged a sit-in protest before the TDLP office itself.

TDP MLC N Rajkumari climbed atop the Assembly building, and started shouting slogans against the state government. However, the police and Assembly officials persuaded her to get down after about 20 minutes. Another MLA, T V Rama Rao, lied down before the TDLP office, to protest against the denial of permission to hold the dharna at the Gandhi statue.

Going by the intensity of the protest, it appeared that the TDP legislators might be arrested by the police. However, the strong protest came to an abrupt end following the heavy rains, which forced all the legislators to rush inside the TDLP office for cover.

Earlier, talking to reporters, TDP MLA Errabelli Dayakar Rao condemned speaker Nadendla Manohar for not allowing the MLAs to hold their dharna. He alleged that the MLAs' rights were being suppressed by the state government, and that it was against democratic norms.

He also criticised the government's response to a TDP MLA's protest before the chief minister's office at the C-block of the state Secretariat on Monday night. He alleged that power supply was stopped, toilets were locked, and drinking water removed from the premises. He also alleged that MLA Gali Muddukrishnamma Naidu was injured after being pushed out by the police officials.

Errabelli demanded that the state government immediately convene a special session of the Legislative Assembly to discuss the power crisis. Further, he said that an all-party delegation should be taken to New Delhi to seek the Centre's help in resolving the issue. (INN)