'If you can't elevate prestige of the House, don't degrade it': Andhra Speaker tells MLAs

Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker C Ayyannapatrudu on Thursday said that while the legislators may not succeed in elevating the prestige of the House, they have ''no right to undermine it'' in the eyes of the public. His remarks come after a turbulent opening of the budget session, during which YSRCP legislators disrupted Governor S Abdul Nazeer's speech by indulging in sloganeering and tearing off official papers. The Speaker expressed disappointment because the disruptions occurred in front of a gallery of students, who were invited to witness the proceedings. Addressing the House, he said, ''We should keep in mind, whatever we do, it's okay if we do not elevate the prestige of the House, but we do not have the right to undermine it. Everybody should remember it.'' Ayyannapatrudu noted that students from various schools in the state were invited to witness the Assembly proceedings to foster their civic awareness. ''I invited them to form a favourable view of legislators, but what we are doing, what will those students learn, what will they think about us?'' he asked. He warned that if these impressionable minds develop a belittling image of the legislature, that perception will become impossible to erase. Reflecting on the behaviour of the opposition, he urged all legislators to look inward. ''There is a need for those people responsible to introspect. I appeal to them through this House,'' he added. On Monday, YSRCP legislators led by their party supremo YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had boycotted the House and staged a walkout.