February 24th 2025.
In a recent political gathering, the President of YSR Congress Party, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, made a brief appearance at the Assembly on the first day of the Budget session. He was present for about 11 minutes, during which time the Governor, S. Abdul Nazeer, delivered his address to the joint session of the Assembly and the Council.
However, things took a turn when the YSRCP legislators began to disrupt the Governor's speech by raising slogans, demanding their party to be recognized as the main opposition. The opposition MLAs even raised the slogan 'Save democracy', before Jagan Mohan Reddy and his party members decided to walk out of the Assembly.
After the walkout, YSRCP leader Botcha Satyanarayana addressed the media, stating that the TDP-led coalition government had no choice but to recognize their demand for opposition party status. He emphasized the importance of having an opposition in a democracy, as it represents the voice of the people.
The reason for Jagan Mohan Reddy's attendance at the session was due to the advice of Constitutional experts, following Deputy Speaker K. Raghu Rama Krishna Raju's statement that Jagan Mohan Reddy may be disqualified if he continues to remain absent from the House. According to Article 190 of the Constitution, a member can be disqualified if they do not attend the House for 60 days without permission.
Jagan Mohan Reddy has been fighting to be recognized as the Leader of Opposition and even approached the High Court for orders to the Speaker to grant him the title. This issue has been ongoing since the YSRCP boycotted the Budget session in November 2024, protesting against the Speaker's denial of LoP status. Jagan Mohan Reddy argued that without the recognition, his party would not have enough time to raise important issues in the Assembly, and accused the TDP-led coalition government of trying to suppress the opposition's voice.
It is worth noting that the YSRCP, which has only 11 members in the 175-member Assembly, attended the Assembly session only once after losing power to the TDP-led coalition in June 2024. The TDP, along with its coalition partners, the Jana Sena and the BJP, hold the rest of the seats. The coalition argued that for a party leader to qualify for the LoP post, they must have at least 10 percent of the seats in the Assembly.
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