By IANS,
Hyderabad : In an unprecedented incident in the Andhra Pradesh assembly, a state minister and brother of late chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Monday came to blows with members of opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), but a few hours later expressed regret, saying he had lost his cool.
Agriculture Minister Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy expressed regret in the house and said he could not control himself when the opposition members called his late brother, populary called YSR, a “thief”.
Comparing the late chief minister with God, Vivekananda told the house Monday evening that he was sorry if his behvaiour hurt the sentiments of any member.
“My brother was like Ram and I stood by him as Lakshman. He lived for the people. When they called him a thief and the Congress party a gang of thieves, I could not control myself,” he told the house.
Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy apologised to the house on behalf of his cabinet colleague, but the TDP demanded that the minister be sacked and action be taken against two other legislators loyal to YSR’s son Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy for attacking its members.
There was sharp exchange of words between the chief minister and leader of opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Kiran Kumar said his party would not keep quiet if there was any personal attack on the late leader. Naidu argued that the opposition had every right to question the wrongdoings of YSR.
“The minister may love his brother, but he should not show that in the house,” the TDP chief said.
After Deputy Speaker N. Manohar advised both sides to close the issue, the house took up the debate on land allotments made to various companies by the former YSR government.
Earlier in the morning, the legislature plunged to a new low when Vivekananda rushed towards opposition benches and roughed up TDP members.
It all began when opposition legislators displayed placards with the slogan “YSR gang of thieves”.
The minister, a member of the legislative council, snatched the placards from TDP members G. Muddukrishnama Naidu and C. Prabhakar.
This led to fisticuffs among the members.
Prabhakar hit back by pushing Vivekananda. Two legislators of ruling party loyal to YSR’s son Jaganmohan Reddy rushed to Vivekananda’s aid.
At this juncture the other opposition members intervened to save the situation from getting out of control.
The incident is seen in the political circles as an attempt by Vivekananda Reddy to impress voters in the Pulivendula assembly constituency in Kadapa district, from where he plans to contest the coming by-election.
Vivekananda’s term as member of the council will end Tuesday. He has to get elected as a member of either house within six months to stay as minister.
A former MP and the younger brother of YSR, he became minister Dec 1 last year though YSR’s wife Vijayalakshmi and son Jaganmohan Reddy, popularly called Jagan, advised him against joining the cabinet.
Accusing the Congress leadership of causing a rift in the family, Jagan and his mother had quit the party and also resigned from the parliament and the assembly respectively.
Jagan floated the YSR Congress Party earlier this month. He and his mother are gearing up to contest the by-elections.