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Furore in AP house as home minister, Congress leader trade charges

Andhra Pradesh Home Minister A Madhava Reddy's remark against Congress legislature party leader P Janardhana Reddy sparked off a furore in the Andhra Pradesh assembly today with the Congress members rushing twice into the well of the house in protest.

The trouble started when the home minister was replying during question hour to the CLP leader's charge that there was no law and order in the state and that even a ten-year-old girl was raped after Madhava Reddy took charge of the ministry.

The home minister retorted by saying that if Janardhana Reddy became home minister even for a month, there would be ''land grabbings, atrocities and arson''.

This led to vehement protests from Congress members with some of them rushing into the well of the house. There were also heated exchanges between the home minister and the CLP leader.

Terming Madhava Reddy as a 'kid', Janadharna Reddy said he had served as home minister even before the former became an MLA.

Madhav Reddy then said he had served as a samithi president and became an MLA for three terms and was holding the home portfolio for the second time. ''I did not come into politics like you through land grabbing and arson,'' he tauntingly added setting off another round of protests from the Congress members.

Earlier, replying to the main question raised by Janardhana Reddy and others, the home minister said 17 prisoners had escaped from judicial custody while attending courts in the city since 1996.

While 10 were re-arrested, he said one Mirza Fiaz Baid, an Inter-Service Intelligence agent involved in the murder of a police officer in Hyderabad, was killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir.

He said that 18 police personnel responsible for the escape of the prisoners, had been placed under suspension and departmental proceedings had been initiated against them.

UNI

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