TDP MLAs suspended from Assembly

Re-election for Visakhapatnam-I bypoll on March 25

The Election Commission's decision to countermand the by-election held for the Visakhapatnam-1 Assembly constituency triggered a political furore with opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) launching a major offensive against the Congress government accusing it of misuse of power.

The Election Commission has ordered the re-polling for Vizag by-election on March 25,2006.

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly speaker K R Suresh Reddy today suspended all the TDP members except its leader for two days from the House after they stalled the Assembly proceedings demanding admission of their adjournment motion on the decision of EC.

Both treasury benches and the main Opposition in the Assembly traded charges of bribing voters and other election malpractices while leader of TDP N Chandrababu Naidu demanded the resignation of chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy owning moral responsibility for the countermanding of the by-election.

The TDP members also raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha today while its partymen in Visakhapatnam organised a protest rally in support of the EC's decision.

Reacting to the TDP's accusations, the chief minister described the Opposition party's charges as nothing but the pot calling the kettle black. Rajasekhara Reddy said it was the men belonging to TDP who were caught with lakhs of rupees in their possession while the administration took prompt steps against violation of electoral norms.

Meanwhile, the state government is all set to replace state chief electoral officer G Narayana Rao in the wake of the EC's decision to countermand the Visakhapatnam-I by-election.