HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy withdrew within a few minutes a "harsh remark" he hurled at Leader of the Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu and some newspapers in the Assembly on Tuesday but not before Telugu Desam members stormed the podium three times.

Naidu charge

The furore was touched off during the debate on the Governor's address when Mr. Naidu referred to press reports alleging that Dr. Reddy's brother and other relatives were involved in the scandal relating to the sale of teacher posts in District Selection Committee (DSC-2006) in Kadapa. The Chief Minister rebutted the charge saying "you can't speak as you wish. Were you, as Chief Minister previously, responsible for whatever had happened in Chittoor [Mr. Naidu's native district]?"

Unrelenting, Mr. Naidu shot back saying "there were allegations against your own brother." A visibly incensed Dr. Reddy said: "By your conscience, you know what my brother is." At this stage, the Chief Minister made certain remarks against the newspapers and Mr. Naidu leading to an uproar in the TDP benches. Speaker K. R. Suresh Reddy said he would expunge remarks that were found objectionable.

Not satisfied by the response, Telugu Desam members staged a sit-in on the steps leading to the podium shouting full-throated slogans.

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