TDP chief likens AP Assembly to ‘Kaurava Sabha’
Slams YSRCP for ‘personal abuses targetted at his wife’
YSRCP using power like ‘Bhasmasura hastam’
Jagan Reddy party enacted ‘Draupadi molestation’
‘Faced many crises but not able to digest this’
AMARAVATI: In a day of dramatic twists, TDP National President and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Friday likened the AP Legislative Assembly to ‘Kaurava Sabha’ and decided to boycott the House till 2024, protesting against the ‘ugly character assassinations’ by the Ministers and MLAs of the Jaganmohan Reddy-led ruling YSRCP.
Naidu strongly objected to ‘personal abuses’ targetted at his wife despite the fact that she kept away from politics for the past four decades. “My wife never interfered with political matters. Her father NTR served as a CM. I myself worked as a long-time CM. But my party leaders also don’t know her. I am not able to digest when my family is being targetted in such a way”.
The TDP chief said the Assembly Speaker did not give him a chance to make a statement in the House before walking out. He had forty years of a long political career but was now grossly insulted. The mike was cut half way through while the ruling YSRCP members were allowed to hurl all sorts of unparliamentary remarks and abuses on him and his family.
Later, addressing a press conference at the TDP central office, Chandrababu Naidu vowed that he would not re-enter the Assembly until after the 2024 elections. The TDP would continue its field level struggles against the YSRCP misrule. All political scores would be settled in the people’s turf from now. What happened in the AP Assembly today was like Draupadi’s molestation by Kauravas in the presence of Pandavas in the epic tale Maha Bharatha.
Naidu said that the ruling YSRCP leaders got power because the people of Andhra Pradesh gave a massive mandate of 151 out of 175 MLAs. But, the Chief Minister and his party members were only bent on insulting and terrifying the opposition and all sections of society now. Like in ‘Mohini Bhasmasura’ mythological tale, the ruling YSRCP took the boon of power from the voters and then started to test it by placing its destructive hand on the heads of the same people who gave it power.
Chandrababu Naidu broke into tears both in the House and during the press conference, saying he was not able to bear the insults being hurled at a very personal level. He had always thought of taking political criticism however crude it might be in a sportive way. But, he never imagined political debate could degrade to the extent of assassinating the character of family members.
The TDP chief recalled how he worked with national stalwarts like Atal Behari Vajpayee, VP Singh, Jyothi Basu, Karuna Nidhi and Biju Patnaik. He coordinated with national leaders when NTR played a key role in the National Front. Vajpayee once commented that all possible help should be extended to Chandrababu as he would never seek personal favours but would only focus on the people’s issues.
Naidu deplored that he has been silently bearing all the insults from the YSRCP for the past two and half years just for the sake of the people. The TDP could only get 23 MLA seats in the 175-member House. But still, it has been boldly fulfilling its responsibility as an opposition party to highlight the people’s problems. The ruling party’s character assissination campaigns became unbearable these days.
Chandrababu Naidu strongly objected to the manner in which the Speaker didn’t stop the ruling YSRCP members from making personal abuses. When NTR was also insulted at that time, he was given an opportunity to make a statement on his decision to boycott the House. The Speaker should give a chance when a member takes a momentous decision in the House.
Naidu pointed out that even Sri Krishna could not stop the Kauravas from hurling gross insults on Draupadi. The Ramayana had also some contexts in which injustice and humiliation was meted out. However, dharma would win over adharma eventually.
The TDP chief asserted that he would enter the Assembly again only after confronting the ruling YSRCP in the field level in the next two and half years. In this Kaurava Sabha of YSRCP, there is no ‘Gauravam’ (respect) for elected representatives of the people.
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