YSR’s wife and YSR Congress Party’s sole MLA in the Assembly Vijayamma made her maiden speech in the Assembly during the debate on no-confidence motion and she made an emotional impact. Her speech was halting most of the time, but she overcame the initial hesitation a couple of minutes through the speech.
Her 16-mintue speech contained all important points she wanted to make. She reminisced fondly about her husband, pointed out the irony of the situation when she had to speak in an Assembly without YSR’s presence. She pointed out how both Congress and TDP made critical references to her late husband.
Reminding that the present government owed its existence to YSR’s hardwork, she said it was a quirk of fate that she had to vote against the same government. She also talked about how YSR worked all through his life for Congress Party and single-handedly brought it into power in the state.
She also took potshots on TDP and Chandrababu Naidu, sarcastically saying that she failed to understand whether the no-confidence was against YSR or for farmers.
Most importantly, she declared that her party as well as those who continued to be loyal towards YSR would vote for the no-confidence, whatever the motives of TDP were. She congratulated the MLAs loyal to YSR who were going to vote against Congress, even though they were aware that they might face disqualification.
She also felt that had TDP moved the confidence resolution six months earlier when Chiranjeevi had not merged his PRP with Congress, the government would have fallen.
On the whole, Vijayamma’s speech made an impact on the House, which listened to her raptly. Probably worried over the message her speech would send to the people at large, PCC Chief Botsa Satyanarayna was on his feet to clarify that Jagan deserted Congress on his own. Jagan wanted dynastic rule in the state and claimed CM’s seat as a matter of hereditary right, which was not possible in Congress, he said.
Botsa also pointed out, rather cryptically, that it was Kiran Kumar Reddy who defended Jagan when TDP charged YSR’s son with the murder of Paritala Ravi.
Vijayamma again rose to clarify that Jagan had to come out of Congress because the party did not give permission for his ‘Odarpu Yatra’. It was only towards the end of her speech that Jagan loyalists like Balineni rushed to her help.
