Opinion September 14, 1984, Forty Years Ago: AP Speaker quits

The bizarre developments in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly took a new turn when M Baga Reddy abruptly resigned as pro tem Speaker 15 minutes after the third day’s session commenced for taking up the motion of trust in the Bhaskara Rao ministry.

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This was described by the former chief minister, N T Rama Rao, as part of a “conspiracy hatched by the ruling clique to avoid its miserable defeat on the floor of the House”.

By: Editorial

September 14, 2024 08:29 AM IST First published on: Sep 14, 2024 at 06:30 AM IST

The bizarre developments in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly took a new turn when M Baga Reddy abruptly resigned as pro tem Speaker 15 minutes after the third day’s session commenced for taking up the motion of trust in the Bhaskara Rao ministry. Within hours of the resignation, Governor S D Sharma named the Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) leader, Salahuddin Owaisi, as Reddy’s successor. This was described by the former chief minister, N T Rama Rao, as part of a “conspiracy hatched by the ruling clique to avoid its miserable defeat on the floor of the House”.

Punjab bandh

A bandh has been called in Punjab against the gunning down of innocent passengers by terrorists in Gurdaspur district. The state Governor K T Satarawala, declared that extremism would not be tolerated. The Governor who went to Sekhwan village, along with his Security Advisor, Lt Gen K Gowri Shankar, and other officers, announced “an ex gratia grant of Rs 10,000 to next of kin of those killed and Rs 2,000 each to those injured.”

Opposition demand

Leaders of 10 opposition parties, including the BJP and the CPM, presented a memorandum to President Zail Singh demanding the immediate dismissal of the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Bhaskara Rao, who had failed to prove his majority in the Assembly within the stipulated 30 days. The opposition leaders also demanded that the gross injustice done to N T Rama Rao be corrected forthwith by restoring status quo ante with regard to his government. There should be no imposition of President’s Rule or suspension of the assembly, the opposition leaders said.

Indo-China talks

An early and just settlement of the long-standing boundary question will be the Indian delegation’s aim at next week’s Sino-Indian talks opening in Beijing. Finishing touches were given to the Indian delegation at a high-level meeting in the Foreign Office. The Chairman of the Policy Planning Board, Mr G. Parthasarthy. presided over the meeting. This was the third meeting held this week to consider what stand India should take at the talks.