“I am well prepared to face ragging in the House,’’ Praja Rajyam Party floor leader Chiranjeevi said while making his maiden speech in the Assembly during the Motion of Thanks to Governor’s address today.
When Chiranjeevi claimed that his party gave tickets to 100 Assembly seats to backward classes, some Congress members shouted: “You sold the tickets.’’ Responding to this, Chiranjeevi said: “Like in the college where freshers are teased by seniors, I am also prepared to face such things here,’’ Chiranjeevi said.
Speaker N Kiran Kumar Reddy said that ragging was banned by the Government. The Speaker advised Congress members to stop the ‘running commentary’ and not to interrupt the speech of Chiranjeevi.
Reacting to this, Chiranjeevi said that he was prepared for ragging.
“Better that the seniors resort to ragging early. If they rag me, I can feel relieved as the matter is over,’’ he quipped.
Notwithstanding the murmurs by ruling party members, Chiranjeevi made his speech giving suggestions to the Government. Though, he came to the House with a prepared speech, he deviated from it intermittently retorting to the barbs from the Treasury benches.
After Chiranjeevi spoke, the Speaker complimented him saying, “It is a good maiden speech.’’ Chiranjeevi wished the Congress to remain in power for years. “If you do good you will be in power life long. If you fail to deliver the goods, we (the Opposition) will take the opportunity to rule,’’ Chiranjeevi cautioned.
He suggested to the Congress to think of ‘result-oriented’ work.
On the nine-hour free power supply to farmers, the PRP leader said that even seven hour power was sufficient, if the power was given in a single spell.
He wondered how the Government would complete the Jalayagnam by allocating Rs 10,000 cr every year, when it required a whopping Rs 2 lakh crore to complete all the projects.
Chiranjeevi also advised the Government to take Sridharan’s suggestion on Hyderabad Metro Rail Project. Touching upon various issue like potable water, suicides by weavers and farmers and lack of basic infrastructure, Chiranjeevi said that the Governor’s speech presented only one side of the coin. “The problems I have mentioned here speak about the other side of the coin,’’ he pointed out.
When Chiranjeevi appreciated the Government for giving Home Minister post to a woman, the Congress members thumped the benches. “You can thump the benches more loudly,’’ Chiranjeevi quipped.
While narrating the pathetic tales of sufferers, Chiranjeevi advised the Speaker to display the photographs of people suffering due to water contamination, the farmer who committed suicide and the women who faced atrocity.
These pictures will remind the members to think about them and discuss about the problems of the people rather than about how to get re-elected, he said.
