With the first session of the newly-formed Andhra Pradesh state assembly commencing on June 19, the social media has been seriously debating on whether YSR Congress party president and former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy will attend the session or not.
This is the question that has been doing rounds in the social media, though nothing has been heard from the party so far.
The session will commence on Wednesday and all the MLAs will take oath to be administered by pro-tem speaker on the first day.
The National Democratic Alliance has 164 out of 175 MLAs in the assembly and the remaining 11 MLAs belong to the YSR Congress party. All of them will have to take oath to become the assembly members formally.
This has led to the talk whether Jagan will come to the assembly on the first day to take oath. If he chooses to abstain from the assembly proceedings, he may take oath separately in the Speaker’s chambers at a later date, after the election of the Speaker.
Before that, the YSRC legislature party will meet formally and elect Jagan Mohan Reddy as their leader. Since the party has only 11 MLAs, it might not get the leader of opposition status, which requires at least 18 MLAs for the same.
But if the NDA leadership thinks, it can accord such a status to Jagan. So, if Jagan is declared as the leader of the opposition, he will have to be given the cabinet rank along with all benefits and privileges to be given to a minister. There will be a separate chamber for him on the assembly premises.
He will also get an exclusive seat, exactly opposite to that of the chief minister, the leader of the House. But if he doesn’t get the leader of opposition status, he will be treated like an ordinary MLA without any privileges and the Speaker might allocate the seats to the YSRCP MLAs in the back benches.
Sources said if Jagan is not given the leader of opposition status or at least the seat in the front row, he might not be willing to attend the assembly.