Why Is Jagan Desperate For ‘Opposition’? Reasons Here

Just a couple of months ago, Jagan Mohan Reddy was chanting ‘Why Not 175’ slogans at his electoral meetings. Today, he is grappling for the opposition leader status and has written letters to the AP assembly speaker for the same.

While this historical downfall is on one side, a new reason is being cited to explain Jagan’s desperation to secure the opposition leader status.

Firstly, the opposition leader status is equivalent to a cabinet minister status. The person in this post would receive the privileges of a minister.

More importantly for Jagan, the opposition leader post comes with several legal perks. If an opposition leader is to be arrested, the police must seek prior approval from the Governor. Along with that, there will be several legal privileges for the opposition leader.

But in Jagan’s case, he does not have the opposition status, considering the one-sided verdict the people of AP gave. If the public is so determined not to give him opposition status, then pressuring the speaker would be of no use.

Moreover, Jagan himself said in previous assembly sessions that Chandrababu wouldn’t even be the opposition leader if he decided. He made this statement with TDP not having 18+ MLAs (10% of the total strength) in mind.

Now, Jagan is saying there is no rule that 10% of the MLAs are needed for opposition status. Analysts are opining that Jagan is aware of the perks of the opposition leader position, and that’s why he is stressing this point.

Adding fuel to the fire, the TDP+ government is delving into financial irregularities and related cases over the last five years. To potentially gain legal immunity from this, Jagan seems to be pushing for opposition status, commented a neutral observer well-versed in legal issues.