Hyderabad: The five-day monsoon session of Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly began on a stormy note Monday with the main opposition YSR Congress Party disrupting the House repeatedly over the issue of special category status to the state.

The first day witnessed noisy scenes and heated exchanges between the ruling Telugu Desam and the YSRCP as the opposition members repeatedly stormed the well of the House and laid a siege to the Speaker’s podium.

The Speaker K Siva Prasad had to adjourn the House for the day as unrelenting YSRCP members did not allow the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to make a statement on the special category status.

Despite the repeated appeals of the Speaker, the Minister for Legislative Affairs, Y Ramakrishnudu, and the Chief Whip, K Srinvasulu, and YSRCP members led by Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy did not relent. When all efforts to bring order to the House failed and the YSRCP legislators continued with their slogan shouting, the Speaker adjourned the House.

Earlier Jaganmohan Reddy demanded that the Telugu Desam should leave the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre as it had failed to grant the special status to Andhra Pradesh. He held the Naidu responsible for the spate of suicides in Andhra Pradesh over the issue.

Naidu on the other hand brushed aside the demand. “Who is Jaganmohan Reddy to ask the TDP to quit the NDA”, he said adding that the issue of special category status for Andhra Pradesh had come up because of the BJP and its leader M Venkaiah Naidu at the time of Parliament passing the Reorganisation Act under UPA government. “Because of the pressure of the BJP then prime minister Manmohan Singh had committed to give special status to Andhra Pradesh”, he said.

He lashed out at Reddy saying he had supported the UPA government in haphazard bifurcation of the state to come out of jail on bail.

“Now he wants the TDP to quit the NDA so that he could join it and get himself absolved from the cases of corruption”, Naidu said.

The chief minister appealed to the people not to resort to the extreme step of committing suicide for the special status as the government was on the job and will secure it. He said that the Centre was also considering the issue favourably.

Earlier the House passed three resolutions condoling the death of former President APJ Abdul Kalam, the death of 29 people in a stampede during the Godavari Pushkaram at Rajahmundry and suicide by three people for special status.

Even on the issue of stampede deaths, there were heated exchanges between treasury and opposition benches as Reddy held Naidu responsible for the deaths. He said the deaths occurred because Naidu took the dip in Godavari at a bathing point meant for common people.

Responding to it Naidu said he had to do so as Kanchi acharya was taking the dip at bathing point meant for VIPs.

“The stampede was an accident and not due to any human error”, he said.