Sujana argues with Jaitley for ignoring issues

Hyderabad: Union Minister of State Sujana Chowdary is understood to have picked up an argument with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the lobbies of Rajya Sabha on Thursday questioning him why he was skirting the real issues that the TDP raised while he was giving his reply to the discussion on budget.

Jaitley then reportedly asked him why he was unhappy when he had dealt with most of the issues. He had also recalled his assurances two days on the floor of the house and wanted to know why they were creating a scene in the House.

Reacting sharply, Sujana Chowdary is understood to have observed that if hollow promise were made no one would take them seriously. “There was no substance in your reply to the demands the TDP has been making for the last four days,” he is reported to have commented.

Chowdary is learnt to have told Jaitley in a voice laced in sarcasm that one should respect the party for what it is and not for how many MPs it had. The parties may be there today and disappear tomorrow. But the institution of government would live on and Jaitley should keep this in mind, he is understood to have said.

Echoing similar opinion, TDP MP Galla Jayadev said that Jaitley had not lived up to their expectations and the TDP members should have stalled the proceedings when he was delivering his reply in protest against his reluctance in offering anything specific to the state. The mood of TDP MPs is that they want to intensify their agitation further but only after consulting their boss N Chandrababu Naidu who is abroad now.