Ex-Andhra CM Jagan interacts with YSRCP workers, people for first time after losing power

Amaravati: YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) President and former Chief Minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy interacted with party leaders, workers and people at the camp office in Tadepalli on Wednesday.

The former Chief Minister personally greeted each individual by name and took the time to enquire about their well-being and understand their concerns.

Jagan Mohan Reddy told party leaders and workers not to lose heart and assured them that the party stands firmly by their side. He emphasised the need for moving forward together.

YSRCP workers and people were seen standing in a queue to meet the leader. Some of them took selfies with him.

This was the first such interaction with party workers and people by Jagan Mohan Reddy since losing power to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led National Democratic Alliance.

In the May 13 elections, the YSRCP won only 11 seats in the 175-member Assembly.

The party also won four out of 25 Lok Sabha seats.

The TDP-JSP-BJP alliance won 164 Assembly and 21 Lok Sabha seats.

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the State Legislative Assembly Speaker and the Legislature Secretary on Jagan Mohan Reddy’s petition seeking orders to give him Leader of Opposition (LoP) status.

Justice Cheemalapati Ravi directed the respondents to file counters with full details related to the LoP status and adjourned the hearing for three weeks.

The petitioner argued that he should be given the LoP status as per the rules.

Jagan made Minister for Legislative Affairs Payyavula Keshav and Speaker Ayyanna Patrudu as respondents in individual capacity.

As the Speaker is the authority to decide on LoP status, the court issued a notice to him.

In a letter to the Speaker on June 25, Jagan Mohan Reddy requested him to recognise YSRCP as the principal Opposition party and him as the LoP.

“There is already a discussion in the public domain to the effect that I would not be entitled to the position of LoP on the ground that YSRCP does not have 10 per cent of the strength of the august House.

“It is to be noted that the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly notified under Article 208 of the Constitution of India do not prescribe any such mandatory percentage of seats to be secured by a political party for recognising its leader as LoP.

“Nor has there been any convention of insistence of 10 per cent strength on the floor of the august House for the Opposition party, in the unified state of Andhra Pradesh to grant such recognition as LoP,” wrote Jagan Mohan Reddy.