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Andhra Pradesh
By Our Special Correspondent
The Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, greeting the Leader of the Opposition, Y. S.Rajasekhara Reddy, in Hyderabad on Monday. - Photo: P. V. Sivakumar
The exchanges between them appeared to be in a lighter vein on the face of it. But they carried a deeper political message setting the tone for the deliberations in the next few days. Dr. Reddy occupied his chair much before the commencement of the session and was seen chatting with party colleagues when the Leader of the House moved in to a standing ovation by the Telugu Desam benches. After receiving "namaskarams" from the yellow shirts, Mr. Naidu went to the Congress benches for exchanging pleasantries, starting with Dr. Reddy. Seeing the Chief Minister, Vanama Vekateswara Rao, Congress MLA from Kothagudem, urged Mr. Naidu to accept the tricolour scarf brought by his party colleague D. Nagender. Even as the Chief Minister faced the inconvenience sporting a smile, Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy made another light-hearted remark that the former would surely oblige as he was, after all, a Congress man. By wearing the tricolour scarf, he would be honouring his parent party, Dr. Reddy remarked. " He is adept at changing parties,'' the Leader of the Opposition added. Amid a burst of laugher, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu hit out at the Congress leader recalling that Dr. Reddy too changed colours often. He asked Dr. Reddy if he had not parted ways with Indira Gandhi to join "Reddy Congress" only to come back to the parent organisation later. To this, Dr. Reddy's counter was that Mr. Chandrababu Naidu, as a Minister in the Congress Government, vowed to defeat his father-in-law in the elections, but changed sides overnight following the victory of the TDP at the hustings. "You used to come to my residence for consultation on your political moves. Can you deny the fact now?" Dr. Reddy asked. Mr Naidu's retort was that he had done so owing to "family pressures.'' At this stage, Mr. Nagender and Mr. Vanama Venkateswara Rao sought to taunt the Chief Minister by asking to wear a "garland of stamps.'' But Mr. Naidu kept his cool and walked away. The conventional spirit of bonhomie and camaraderie was all-pervading on the first day. Leaders and members of different parties greeted each with folded hands. Telugu Desam members sprang a surprise by appearing in yellow scarves depicting the party symbol, cycle, in addition to shirts or saris of the same colour. The secretary for the TD Legislature Party, B. Satyanarayana Murthy, was seen distributing scarves. The Finance Minister, Y. Ramakrishnudu, gently declined the offer. Members of the BJP, the CPI(M) and the TRS donned scarves in their party colours -- saffron, red and rose. Among the earliest to come inside were the Roads & Buidlings and Irrigation Ministers, T. Nageswara Rao and K. Srihari, and the seniormost in the House representing Uttarpalli, Kolla Appala Naidu.
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