By IANS
Hyderabad : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Monday once again allegedly insulted opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, asking him to “shut up” during a meeting.
A meeting of the business advisory committee (BAC) of the state legislative assembly was being held to discuss the agenda for the winter session that began Monday. Naidu was insisting that the winter session be extended by three days when Reddy reportedly asked him to “shut up”.
Besides Reddy and Naidu, leaders of all parties were present at the closed-door meeting called by Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy.
“I was never insulted like this by anyone during my life,” Naidu told reporters after the meeting. “I have seen many chief ministers but nobody has behaved like this,” he remarked.
TDP legislators staged a silent protest near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the assembly premises.
State Finance Minister K. Rosaiah, however, denied Naidu’s allegations and said the chief minister only took exception to the tone and tenor of Naidu and requested him to control his anger. He alleged that Naidu was exaggerating things.
Earlier, YSR, as the chief minister is popularly known, told reporters that he would not like to comment on the matter and that Rosaiah, as a third person present at the meeting, would address the media.
While YSR and Naidu often enter into wordy duels during assembly sessions, this is the second time in recent months that the chief minister has insulted the opposition leader.
During the assembly session a few months ago, YSR had told Naidu in Telugu that he would expose him (Naidu) in such a way that he would regret having born to his mother.
The remark had evoked strong reactions from the TDP, which stalled the session. The chief minister later withdrew his words and clarified that he did not intend to insult Naidu’s mother.