It is a matter of pride to have Ayyanna Patrudu as Speaker of A.P. Assembly, says Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu

It is a matter of pride to have Ayyanna Patrudu as Speaker of A.P. Assembly, says Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. His affable nature and vast experience are crucial at this juncture, as the House, unlike during the previous dispensation, needs to have constructive and healthy debates on important issues and be a place where government’s policies are given proper shape, he says. The Chief Minister makes it clear that he is against belittling the YSRCP as people have already given the punishment it deserves in the just-concluded elections.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has stressed the need for the Legislative Assembly to have constructive debates on a host of urgent issues such as development of the capital city of Amaravati and construction of the Polavaram project, as the five years of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) rule left the State at the crossroads.

The reputation of the Assembly during the previous dispensation was destroyed as members were insulted, and even personally attacked, and healthy debates were few and far between, Mr. Naidu said in his speech after Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu’s unanimous election as Speaker of the XVI Legislative Assembly on June 22 (Saturday).

“The election of Mr. Ayyanna Patrudu as Speaker comes at this critical juncture. I am sure, with his affable nature and vast experience, he will give the leadership required by the State to bounce back,” Mr. Naidu said.

Mr. Naidu said Andhra Pradesh was just getting back on its feet after the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance ended the YSRCP’s destructive rule. At this stage, the Assembly should give a proper shape to the government’s policies by taking into account the views of all the members, irrespective of their parties, he said, while making it clear that he was against belittling the YSRCP as people had already given the punishment it deserved in the just-concluded elections.

The Assembly should not be a place where members were heckled and manhandled, as the purpose of them being sent to the august House was to sort out the people’s issues. “It has to facilitate the achievement of the government’s targets,” he asserted.

Mr. Naidu said that Mr. Patrudu was a seven-time MLA and MP once, and had been in politics for the last 42 years since his joining the TDP in 1982. He recalled that Mr. Patrudu had worked in the N.T. Rama Rao Cabinet and was Minister for 16 years. When it came to loyalty to the TDP, there was no other leader comparable to him, Mr. Naidu observed.

“Mr. Patrudu had 23 criminal cases booked against him during the YSRCP regime, but he remained as courageous as ever in his fight against injustice. It is a matter of pride to have him in our midst as the Speaker today,” Mr. Naidu added.