Jagan Repeats Same Tone On Opposition Status

YSR Congress president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is once again insisting on being recognized as the Opposition Leader, even though his party secured less than 10% of the seats in the recent assembly elections.

Jagan has been skipping assembly sessions, saying he will only attend after being granted opposition status. But as per rules, a party must win at least 18 seats to qualify for this. With far fewer seats, YSR Congress does not meet the requirement, leaving no scope for the ruling alliance to grant his demand.

Still, Jagan continues to push the same point. At a press conference today, he said, “There is only one opposition party in Andhra Pradesh, and that is YSR Congress. So regardless of the number of seats, I must be given equal position as the leader of the house. But the government is not allocating the same as they do not want to listen to the public problems.”

He even suggested that his press conference remarks should be tabled in the Assembly for discussion, which many see as an unusual demand.

Meanwhile, chief minister Chandrababu Naidu and the ruling alliance have repeatedly invited Jagan to participate in the Assembly and assured him enough time to raise issues. Yet, Jagan seems to be using the opposition status demand as a reason to stay away.

This appears to be turning into a never-ending debate over something that is clearly out of reach.