By IANS
Hyderabad : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's personal attack on opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu in the state assembly Monday sparked a furore, and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) activists immediately took to the streets demanding an apology.
The chief minister made a scathing attack on the TDP president during a heated debate on the issue of mining lease to Obulapuram Mining Corp (OMC) owned by Rajasekhara Reddy's friend and the arrest of TDP leaders in Anantapur district.
YSR, as the chief minister is known, was making clarifications on the opposition's allegations when Naidu tried to intervene.
The chief minister refused to yield and made a remark in Telugu while angrily gesticulating at Naidu. "I will expose you in such a way that you will repent having born to your mother," he said, and repeated it when Naidu and TDP legislators protested.
Although YSR and Naidu have been bitter political rivals for a long time, the TDP president was taken aback. The opposition legislators trooped into the well of the house and demanded an apology from the chief minister.
Amid the heated exchange of words between treasury and opposition benches, YSR requested Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy to expunge any remark that he finds "unparliamentary". Following the uproar, the speaker adjourned the house till evening.
Later, talking to newsmen, Naidu said he was hurt by the chief minister's remarks. "All members in the house have mothers. Has anybody been born without a mother," asked Naidu, who was chief minister from 1995 to 2004.
Protesting against YSR's remark, TDP activists took to the streets in the state capital and other parts of the state and set afire YSR effigies.
Earlier, clarifying the issue in the house, YSR said it was Naidu's government that had given iron ore mining lease to OMC, owned by G. Janardhan Reddy, a member of the Karnataka legislative council.
The chief minister said the police arrested TDP leaders as they were proceeding to the mining area without permission and in violation of prohibitory orders. He said Janardhan Reddy was ready to facilitate a visit by the TDP delegation but wanted the party to wait for his return from China.
The issue of alleged police "highhandedness" against TDP leaders rocked the house as soon as it met for the day. The speaker suspended Naidu and 20 other TDP legislators from the question hour for stalling the assembly's proceedings.
The speaker also suspended 13 Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) legislators on another charge.
Though the TDP has 45 legislators in the 294-member assembly, most were in Anantapur to protest against the arrest of their colleagues Saturday when they were going to OMC.