YSR Congress says it has the numbers to pull down Kiran govt

Political posturing between rival parties on the issue of a trial of strength in the state assembly picked up momentum on Tuesday with the YSR Congress claiming it has the necessary numbers to bring down the Kiran Kumar Reddy government and daring the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to move a no-confidence motion in the assembly.

On its part, the TDP demanded that the chief minister convene a special session of the assembly and prove his majority even as the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) pitched in by stating that it would support a no-trust motion moved by any party.

Responding to these demands, PCC president D Srinivas said that the Kiran regime was ready to prove its majority in the house any day. A no-confidence motion can be moved by even one MLA, but for it to be taken up for consideration, it requires the backing of one-tenth of the total strength of the house, which would mean 30 legislators in the case of Andhra Pradesh.

According to sources, normally, it is the governor who would convene a regular session of the assembly based on the advice of the chief minister and his cabinet.

"But under special circumstances wherein the majority of the state government is in doubt or needs to be proved, the governor can convene a special session.

As per indications, the monsoon session of the state assembly is likely to be held in July this year.

But any call on a special session can be made only by the governor," highly placed sources in the know how told TOI. It was the YSR Congress that set the ball rolling on Tuesday on the issue of the no-confidence motion.

Soon after the meeting of the central governing council in the city, its spokesperson Balineni Srinivasa Reddy told the media that the YSR Congress had the requisite numbers to bring down the Kiran government. "We will prove our strength when a no-trust vote is actually moved in the house. All I can say is that we have the necessary number of MLAs willing to support Jagan on the issue. Let the TDP display the gumption to table the no-trust vote," he said.

Significantly, among those who attended the YSR Congress governing council meeting were former ministers and Congress legislators P Subhash Chandra Bose and D Krishna Das (brother of roads & buildings minister Dharmana
Prasada Rao).

"Officially they are members of the Congress party but still have the audacity to take part in a top-level meeting of another party," said an angry Kiran loyalist.

The TDP picked up the challenge thrown by the YSR Congress and dared Kiran Kumar Reddy to convene a special session where it said it would move a no-confidence motion and fell the government.

"The TDP will move the no-confidence motion. If the claims of Jagan are true, then the government will fall. If they are not, then the YSR Congress chief would be exposed," TDP politburo member Yanamala Ramakrishnudu told TOI. TRS leader and Sircilla MLA K Taraka Rama Rao immediately said his party would support a no-trust motion moved by any party.

Now, all eyes on on governor E S L Narasimhan, who like any governor appointed by the government in power at the Centre, would weigh the options for the ruling party before making his call.

"The reasoning within the UPA government at the Centre would be: Why put the government at risk by precipitating a no-confidence motion," said the sources and added that Narasimhan will weigh all his options before deciding on the issue.