Vijayawada : A major political controversy erupted in Andhra Pradesh following remarks by former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on the status of Leader of Opposition (LoP).

Reddy, during a press conference on Wednesday, claimed that the ruling TDP had denied him the LoP status unfairly. He further questioned the eligibility of Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan to become an MLA. These statements sparked sharp responses from the ruling alliance, leading to heated exchanges both in and outside the Assembly.

Jagan’s assertion that he was being denied LoP status was countered by Minister Nadendla Manohar, a former Speaker of the undivided Andhra Pradesh Assembly. Manohar stated that as per parliamentary rules, a party must have at least one-tenth of the total strength of the House to claim LoP status. The YSRCP, having only 11 MLAs in a 175-member Assembly, falls short of the required 18 MLAs.

IT Minister Nara Lokesh dismissed Jagan’s claims as misleading and accused him of attempting to create a false narrative. He recalled Jagan’s statement from his tenure as Chief Minister, where he suggested that if he poached ten TDP MLAs, Naidu would lose the LoP status. Lokesh emphasized that the rules cannot be selectively applied and accused Jagan of making baseless allegations against the Speaker.

Meanwhile, the Speaker C. Ayyannapatrudu formally in a letter to Jagan said that his demand was “unreasonable.” He reiterated that the recognition of LoP is the exclusive prerogative of the Speaker, governed by constitutional provisions, legal mandates, and established precedents. He clarified that the High Court had not issued any summons or directions regarding the LoP status as claimed by Jagan and criticized media reports for spreading misinformation. Ayyannapatrudu cited the well-established parliamentary directive issued by G V Mavalankar, India’s first Lok Sabha Speaker, which mandates that the LoP should have at least one-tenth of the total Assembly strength. This directive, he stressed, has been consistently followed in both Parliament and State Assemblies, including Andhra Pradesh. He also said Jagan was quoting false precendents saying that P Upendra of TDP was given LoP status in Lok Sabha though the party did not have required numbers. He said Upendra was only leader of TDP Parliamentary party not LoP. Jagan’s remark about the political standing of Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, drew sharp criticism from ruling party leaders. Lokesh pointed out that Jagan was making personal attacks instead of focusing on governance issues. He also refuted allegations regarding security downgrade for Jagan, clarifying that while Pawan Kalyan has been provided ‘Z’ category security, Jagan enjoys ‘Z+’ category protection.

The TDP has demanded that Jagan’s remarks be referred to the Privileges Committee for necessary action, accusing him of making derogatory statements against the Speaker and the Assembly. Lokesh also claimed that Jagan avoids attending Assembly sessions, making only occasional visits to Vijayawada before returning to Bengaluru. However, the political battle between the YSRCP and the ruling alliance is expected to continue in the days ahead.