Expressing utmost loyalty to the party chief, an YSR Congress MLA in Andhra Pradesh, Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy on Wednesday took oath in the name of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in assembly. The newly elected Nellore Rural MLA was the only one took oath in the name of his CM while all the other MLAs took oath in the name of God.
The pro tem Speaker Appala Naidu objected to this and made the MLA take the oath again in the name of God, as per the Assembly rules. The Article 188 of the India Constitution, Rule 5-A of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the AP Legislative Assembly requires Legislators to take oath in the name of God or give solemn affirmation owing allegiance to the Constitution in case the person does not believe in Gods.
While speaking to the media, Sridhar clarified that he didn’t take oath in Jagan Mohan’s name as a publicity stunt. “He made me MLA twice. I am emotionally attached to him. I am not aspiring for any position by the oath in his name. I have given away my salary as MLA to poor students in the last five years”, he said.
Sridhar had also claimed that in the past few TDP MLAs were allowed to the oath in the name of NT Rama Rao. He also questioned, “What is wrong if I consider my leader as my god?”.
After YSRCP Cheif Jagan Mohan Reddy’s massive victory in the Andhra election polls, the Assembly conducted its first session on June 12 after the oath-taking ceremony of the MLAs. In an unprecedented move, the newly elected Chief Minister has announced that his government will have as many as five deputy chief ministers.