“I will stay away from the House till I return to power.” With this vow, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu had walked away from the Andhra Pradesh Assembly in November 2021 after an emotional and heated exchange with the then ruling YSR Congress members. Nearly 2.5 years on, Naidu fulfilled his vow on Friday, returning to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly as the state’s Chief Minister.
Five years after suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of a much younger Jagan Mohan Reddy, Naidu led his party towards a landslide victory in the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, with allies BJP and Janasena Party (JNP) in tow.
Naidu’s electoral triumph, wherein his Telugu Desam Party won 135 seats, came months after his arrest in an alleged corruption case. In the previous House, the TDP had 23 members.
Among Naidu’s priorities in his latest term is chief minister is the development of capital Amaravati. On Thursday, he said he is in a dilemma over Amaravati, after taking stock of the stalled projects in the greenfield capital he had championed.
He promised to soon release a white paper on the status of Amaravati and elicit suggestions from people on the way forward.
Amaravati capital city project came to a standstill from 2019 to 2024 under the previous YSRCP regime. However, the change in government has breathed life into the capital city project as Naidu categorically declared that Amaravati would be the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh.
This was the first time the CM was visiting Amaravati after assuming the office for the fourth term.
“After going around Amaravati, I am confused as to what to do. Today, I came for the first time to see where we are and what to do in the future. We will take suggestions from various quarters in the state and all the people should deliberate on this issue,” Naidu told reporters.
What Happened in 2021
On November 19, 2021, Chandrababu Naidu had vowed to step into the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly again only after returning to power. In an emotional tone, the then Leader of the Opposition said in the House that he was pained by the “continuous abuses” by the ruling YSR Congress members.
“For the last two and a half years, I have been bearing the insults but remained calm. Today, they have targeted even my wife. I was always lived with honour and for honour. I can take it no more,” Naidu had said said.
As per reports, even as Naidu was speaking, then Speaker Tammineni Seetaram cut the mic while YSR Congress members called Naidu’s remarks a “drama”.
Naidu had vented his frustration following an acrimonious exchange of words between the two sides in the House during a short discussion on the farm sector.
Later, he held an impromptu meeting with his party legislators in his chamber, where he reportedly broke down.
The stunned TDP legislators reportedly consoled Naidu after which they all came back into the House. Naidu then announced his decision to stay away from the House “till I return to power”.
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