Vamsi gets separate seat, TDP cries foul!

In an unusual gesture, Andhra Pradesh state assembly speaker Tammineni Sitaram on Tuesday acceded the request of Gannavaram legislator Vallabhaneni Vamsi Mohan to allot a separate seat to him in the House.

As per the rules, an MLA should sit in the seat allotted to him in the benches allocated to his party in the House. Since the TDP is in the opposition, Vamsi has to sit along with the other TDP legislators.

Though a member can sit wherever there is a vacancy, he has to come back to his original allotted seat if he wants to speak on any subject or take part in any voting.

But on Tuesday, Vamsi urged the Speaker to allot him a separate seat as he was suspended from the TDP on flimsy grounds. He said he was feeling inconvenient to sit amidst the TDP members.

Reacting to his request, the Speaker said he would allocate a separate seat to Vamsi as per the assembly rules. He asked Vamsi to seat anywhere between seat No. 152 to 154. What is more, Sitaram also allowed Vamsi to speak from the newly allotted separate seat.

This has angered the TDP members, who protested the allotment of separate seat to the TDP. Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu said Vamsi had defied the party line and should be disqualified and wondered how the MLA would be given a chance to speak in the question hour.

As a mark of protest, the TDP leaders staged a walk out and returned only after Vamsi spoke for a few minutes.

Vamsi explained that he was suspended from the TDP only for meeting chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on issues like release of water from Polavaram right canal and land distribution in Gannavaram etc.

“I was suspended on the recommendation of Pappu, who does not know the difference between birth anniversary and death anniversary. A blind bull and an old bull are making comments against me,” he alleged.