Opposition stall proceedings on Gangavaram lathicharge

Hyderabad, Mar 27 (UNI) Utter pandemonium prevailed in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly when the opposition parties demanded a debate on the police lathicharge on fishermen at Gangavaram Port, in Visakhapatnam district, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House twice without taking up any business.

Soon after the House met for the day the Speaker K R Suresh Reddy announced that all the adjournment motion given notice of by the opposition parties, including the one on lathicharge by the Communists, were disallowed.

Members of the TDP, demanding nine-hour power supply to farmers, the CPI, CPI(M) and TRS, demanding supply of irrigation water from Sriramsagar and the BJP, demanding Minimum Support Price (MSP), trouped into the well of the House, creating chaos.

The Finance and Legislative Affairs Minister K Rosaiah assured members that the State Home Minister K Jana Reddy would give a statement later in the day and urged opposition members to allow the House to resume business, as only two days were left for the present session to conclude.

Mr Rosaiah said all the demands will have to be guilloitined and the Appropriation Bill would have to be passed tomorrow.

Mr Reddy told the TDP members that the House had already debated the power issue and there was no possibility of taking it up once again.

He suggested to the TDP members to make a mention during the debate on Appropriation Bill tomorrow.

The unrelenting opposition members kept shouting and remained in the well forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House initially for ten minutes.

When the House reassembled, the Communists continued to disrupt the proceedings despite an assurance by the Home Minister that he would make a statement within two hours on the Gangavaram incident.

As the House could not take up the listed business, the Speaker adjourned the House for fifteen minutes for the second time amid chaotic scenes and sloganeering.

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