Hooch tragedy rocks AP Assembly

Vijayawada: The Budget session of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Monday witnessed chaotic scenes with the TDP members vociferously disrupting the proceedings demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy over the hooch tragedy in the State.

The TDP members rushed to the Speaker's podium and continued their slogans. They threw papers on to the Speaker's chair ignoring his repeated appeals.

As the slogan shouting continued while the Ministers were speaking urging them to restore order, the TDP members only raised the decibel levels. The Treasury benches were seen urging the Opposition to allow the government to debate the issue in a proper format.

Finally, the Speaker decrying their action announced the suspension of five MLAs, K Atchannaidu, Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary, Payyavula Keshav, D Bala Veeranjaneyulu, and Nimmala Ramanaidu from the House for the rest of the Budget session.

The Opposition leaders had earlier preferred to continue their protest over the Jangareddygudem deaths even as Speaker Tammineni Sitaram announced that the AP government would make a statement after the second adjournment of the Assembly sessions.

Keshav insisted on a discussion as the matter was serious enough to seek the House's attention and that the deaths had occurred due to the government's inaction and wrong liquor policy. He along with his colleagues tried to obstruct Health Minister Alla Nani's statement on the incident while Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath appealed to them to prefer another form.

As Minister Nani could not complete his statement, Buggana moved a motion for suspension of these MLAs from the rest of the Budget sessions, which was passed and the MLAs were told to leave the Assembly.

Earlier, the TDP legislators led by Nara Lokesh took out a rally outside the Assembly in protest against the YSRCP Government's 'failure'.

They held placards and raised slogans, calling the tragic hooch deaths as 'Government murders'. Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy's betrayal on enacting prohibition was the reason for the cheap liquor deaths. Holding liquor bottles in their hands during their protest, the lawmakers accused the Jagan regime of being responsible for the 25 liquor deaths in the past few days.

It was condemnable that the ruling party leaders were trying to portray Jangareddygudem arrack deaths as 'natural deaths'. The high rates of cheap liquor brands were the reason for the continuing hooch tragedies. Over 18 succumbed to spurious liquor at Jangareddygudem in West Godavari and over three deaths were reported at Doddi in East Godavari, they alleged.