Voice Being Gagged In AP Assembly: YSR Congress

Criticising the way that the Andhra Pradesh Assembly proceedings were being conducted, the YSR Congress said that the Chair had not been impartial, and that attempts were being made to gag the Opposition which is supposed to speak on behalf of the people in the House.

"The dignity of the Chair should be upheld by the Speaker by being prudent in hearing both sides, but the present Speaker has been depriving the Opposition members of chances to voice their feelings. He has denied the mike to even the Leader of the Opposition, which is very unfair," Party MLA Chavireddy Bhaskar Reddy told reporters on Friday.

When the members from the treasury benches were using unparliamentarily language, the barrage of unpleasant words fell on deaf ears, with the Chair only saying that it will look into the matter.

"We raised a point of order to bring the foul language used by them, but the Speaker seemed to be dumb, and did not act in the way an impartial judge should have acted, with his TDP moorings coming to the fore. The same Speaker had asked the Leader of the Opposition Y S Jaganmohan Reddy to withdraw words and statements which were sane and sensible, on many occasions.

"When Jagan used the word buffoon, in reference to people who were making a mockery of parliamentary democracy, it became an issue, and the Speaker ruled to withdraw it, and Jaganmohan Reddy was denied the mike.

"On the other hand, scores of members from the treasury benches have been using unsavoury words, but the Speaker did not bother with them even when we brought the matter to his notice," he said.

The Speaker had been siding with the ruling party, which was obvious by his conduct, Reddy alleged. When the treasury benches had described the Leader of the Opposition in derogatory terms, the Speaker had allowed them and played dumb, he lamented.

"If the Speaker is be seen as discharging his duties without prejudice, he should suspend those who have used such words, and prove that he is fair in conducting the proceedings," Bhaskar Reddy demanded. (INN)