Andhra Pradesh Budget session ends amid war of words

Debate on tragedy at aqua food processing unit turns acrimonious; Pawan Kalyan, meanwhile, seeks action against unit management.

VIJAYAWADA: The tragic death of five workers in an Aqua Food Processing Unit in Mogaltur mandal of West Godavari district rocked the AP Legislative Assembly on the final day of the Budget Session on Friday with the treasury and opposition benches trading charges. Seeking to move an adjournment motion on the issue, the YSRC members disrupted the proceedings several times by climbing the Speaker’s podium.

Making a statement on the incident, Labour Minister K Atchannaidu, while asserting that the exact cause of the deaths will be ascertained after getting the postmortem reports, attributed the tragedy to lack of safety measures and said a committee under the supervision of a senior IAS officer was appointed to inspect the food park to find out the lapses and take action against the management.

The minister also said the government had already announced an ex gratia of Rs 25 lakh each to the bereaved families and will take all initiatives to prevent a repeat of the tragedy. But his statement did not cut ice with the YSRC. Pointing out that the government failed to mention the negligence of the management, Ananda Aqua Food Processing Unit, Leader of Opposition YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said the surrounding villagers are suffering a lot with polluted water of the said industry.

He also expressed concern over the government's nod to the same company for setting up the Godavari Mega Aqua Food Park Private Limited at Tundurru village near Narasapuram in West Godavari district notwithstanding public opposition and possible consequences in case of a pipeline leak. He demanded that the government set up such industries in sea coast instead of in residential areas.

During the debate, both Jagan and Atchannaidu entered into a war of words, particularly when the latter alleged that the YSRC leader had bashed up his class XII friend and his mother for failing to get a question paper to him. The minister claimed a case pertaining to the incident was still pending at the Jubilee Hills police station in Hyderabad. Stung to the quick, Jagan challenged Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to order a probe and resign if the charges were proved false.

Atchannaidu continued the fireworks saying that Jagan had no stature to compare himself with the CM. He went on to add that the YSRC chief was no match to him either. “I won four times as an MLA and not the first time MLA like you,” he taunted. Sharply reacting to the remark, Jagan shot back that he had won as an MP by a record margin of 5.45 lakh votes. “I won as an MP twice and now as an MLA. Can you or your leader ever imagine getting such a majority?" he questioned. The duo also crossed swords when Jagan mocked the minister's English.

Amid the verbal war, the Chief Minister intervened and decried the way the opposition was disrupting proceedings and digressing from the topic of discussion. He suggested that the Speaker give time to MLAs from the region where the five workers had died and also felt the members must be given training session on how to conduct themselves in the House. Later, Speaker Kodela Siva Prasada Rao adjourned the House sine die.

Meanwhile, Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan demanded that the government take stern action against the acqa food processing unit. Recalling that a similar incident had taken place in the same factory in 2012 and no action had been taken so far, the actor-turned-politician tweeted that now it was time for the TDP leaders, who win all the Assembly seats in West Godavari district, to stand by the people of the district.

Welcoming environmentalists to come forward and assess how much damage aqua and other industries are making, he said Jana Sena was willing to work with them to enforce stringent environmental measures against polluting industries. On the Mega Aqua Park at Tundurru, Pawan said the State government should look into the protest of the locals. Observing that any highhandedness from government could trigger violence like Nandigram, he said the incident in aqua park near Mogaltur proved theirs fear were right.

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