In a sensational letter to the AP Assembly Speaker Ch Ayyanna Patrudu former Chief Minister and YCP chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy alleged that the ruling coalition and also the Speaker have been treating him with enmity and demanded to accord him status of Leader of Opposition (LoP).
The tone of the letter indicates that YS Jagan is preparing to boycott assembly proceedings if he was not accorded the status of LoP. In his letter, he made it clear that only with the status of opposition will there be an opportunity to voice the public issues strongly. So he requested the Speaker through a letter to look into the issue of opposition status.
He strongly objected to administering the oath to him after the ministers in the assembly stating that it was against the rules. He said that this reflects that it was decided in advance not to accord him status of LoP. He also objected to the notion that the opposition needed a minimum of 10 per cent seats in the house for this status. He asserted that it was not mentioned anywhere in the law.
He claimed that this provision was not followed either in the parliament or in the united Andhra Pradesh. Jagan reminded that the law has clearly incorporated the main opposition party and the main opposition leader. The letter mentions that section 12-B of the Andhra Pradesh Payment of Salaries and Pension and Removal of Disqualification Act-1953 clearly defines who is the main opposition party.
He said that the law says that whoever has more strength in the opposition parties should be given the status of main opposition. Jagan said that the TDP-Janasena-BJP alliance had formed an alliance before the elections. Due to the formation of the coalition government, he made it clear that there was only YSRCP in the opposition.
In the letter, Jagan mentioned that YSRCP won 40 percent votes in the assembly elections. He said that it is their responsibility to represent the people in the Assembly on matters of public concern. He lamented that if YSRCP is not given the status of main opposition, it will be like obstructing the activities of the assembly.
Jagan mentioned in the letter that in 1984, when elections were held for 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, the TDP won 30 MP seats, even though it did not have 10 percent of the seats in the House, Parvataneni Upendra of the TDP was given the status as the main opposition leader.
He said that in the 1994 combined Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, the Congress party got only 26 seats out of 294 seats. Even though the Congress party did not have 10 percent of the seats. P. Janarthan Reddy was recognized as the main opposition leader. In the 2015 Delhi assembly elections, out of 70 seats, BJP got only 3 seats, but that party was given opposition status.
