“I was part of the injustice done to late N T Rama Rao. That is the reason I was out of power for 15 years. God had punished me for the crime.”
This shocking statement had come straight from the mouth of Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Thammineni Sitaram right on the floor of the Assembly on Tuesday.
He shocked every member in the House with this statement, much to the amuse of the ruling YSR Congress members and to the chagrin of the opposition TDP members.
The speaker said that the Assembly did not give a chance to NTR to speak in the House in 1995, which a crime and injustice in democracy.
“I was part of the conspiracy that denied NTR his right to speak in the House. I paid the price. Now, I honour the right of every member to speak in the House,” Sitaram told the House when TDP objected to the speaker giving a chance to expelled TDP MLA Vallabhaneni Vamsi to speak.
While the TDP members staged a walk out from the Assembly for allowing Vamsi to speak, the speaker said that the House belonged to every member and every member had the right to speak, subject to the rule book of the House.
Sitaram’s confession is referred to the 1995 coup led by Chandrababu Naidu against NTR. The then speaker Yanamala Ramakrishnudu did not allow NTR to speak in the Assembly when Chandrababu Naidu was asked to take floor test to prove his majority.
