Andhra govt ‘denying’ opposition status to silence YSRCP: Jagan Mohan Reddy

YSRCP supremo Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday alleged that the Andhra Pradesh government was deliberately refusing to recognise his party as the principal opposition, effectively suppressing its voice in the Legislative Assembly and Council. Addressing a meeting with party MLAs and MLCs at the YSRCP central office in Tadepalli, Reddy claimed that, despite being the only opposition party in the House, YSRCP members were not being given adequate speaking time, forcing them to raise public issues through the media. ''The government is deliberately denying YSRCP recognition as the principal opposition to ensure our voice is not heard in the House, even though we are the only opposition,'' Reddy claimed in a press release. He directed YSRCP MLCs to fully utilise the party's strength in the Legislative Council, study every issue in depth, and come prepared with facts and evidence to hold the government accountable. Reddy stressed that only strong preparation and factual arguments would compel the treasury benches to respond, urging legislators to highlight public hardships and question government failures without fear. Referring to the Tirupati laddu issue, he alleged that cases and attacks against several leaders were linked to their questioning of the government, and claimed that the movement of rejected ghee tankers occurred after the change in regime. He noted that established testing procedures existed in TTD and said similar rejections had occurred in earlier periods, asserting that current authorities must provide explanations. Describing the NDA coalition government's tenure as a ''chain of scams,'' Reddy alleged that valuable land in Visakhapatnam had been allocated to relatives of the CM. He urged party members to fight vigorously in the Council, work sincerely, and remain connected with the public, asserting that committed workers would receive due recognition in the future. There was no immediate response from the ruling TDP-led coalition on Reddy's remarks.