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Confidence motion against Andhra government defeated by voice vote
The fate of the motion was a foregone conclusion, the TDP having just 45 members in the 294-member house as against the Congress's 183 legislators.
- IANS
- Published: 00:44 April 4, 2008
Hyderabad: A no-confidence motion moved against the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) was defeated by voice vote in the assembly yesterday after an acrimonious debate that lasted several hours.
The fate of the motion was a foregone conclusion, the TDP having just 45 members in the 294-member house as against the Congress's 183 legislators.
Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy turned down the TDP demand for putting the motion to vote and declared that it had been defeated by voice vote. At 2 am, he adjourned the house sine die, bringing curtains on the one-and-half-month-long budget session.
Only the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has two members in the house, extended support to the no-confidence motion.
The debate, marred by heated arguments between TDP and Congress legislators, dragged on well past midnight.
After a nearly two-hour reply by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy to the debate, TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu rose to level more allegations against the government.
The TDP had stated that its aim was to "expose" various acts of omission and commission by the government.
Naidu said the government was steeped in corruption and Reddy had no moral right to continue in office, but the latter retorted by reeling out steps taken by his administration during its four years in office for the state's development and the people's welfare.
TDP draws fire
"No other opposition party in the state's history has failed the way the TDP has failed in playing its role as an effective opposition," said Reddy as he questioned the TDP's motive in bringing the no-confidence motion.
The chief minister denied all the allegations of corruption levelled by Naidu against him, his cabinet colleagues and his son Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy.
Naidu had earlier alleged that Jaganmohan Reddy had launched Telugu daily Sakshi with "ill-gotten" money. He alleged that the chief minister and his colleagues were involved in irregularities linked to irrigation project contracts.
The debate took a dramatic turn at one point when Deputy Speaker G. Kuthuhalamma broke down in her chamber over certain remarks made by Naidu. The leader of opposition had lost his cool when the deputy speaker, who was in chair, denied him an opportunity to speak.
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