Chandrababu Naidu alleges insults by YSRCP leaders, breaks down; vows to enter Andhra Pradesh Assembly only after he is voted to power

N. Chandrababu Naidu at a press conference in the Telugu Desam Party office at Mangalagiri in Andhra Pradesh, on November 19.

An emotion-filled N. Chandrababu Naidu, Leader of Opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, broke down in tears during a media conference in Amaravati on November 18 and vowed to step into the Assembly only after he was voted back to power.

He accused legislators of the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) of humiliating him by making personal remarks, including some regarding his wife Bhuvaneswari. In a statement issued by his Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Chandrababu Naidu likened the Andhra Pradesh Assembly to a ‘Kaurava Sabha’ and stated that he would boycott the Assembly until 2024 in protest against the "ugly character assassination" by YSRCP Ministers and legislators.

Naidu’s outburst came shortly after he had had an acrimonious exchange of words in the Assembly with ruling party legislators during a discussion on the farm sector. Stating in the House that he had never faced such humiliation in his political life, Chandrababu Naidu said he was pained by the continuous slur on him by the ruling YSR Congress members. Naidu was quoted as saying: "For the last two and a half years, I have been bearing the insults but remained calm. Today, they have targeted even my wife. I have always lived with honour and for honour. I can take it no more." The ruling YSR Congress termed Naidu’s emotional outburst as "drama".

After the exchange in the Assembly, Chandrababu Naidu held an impromptu meeting with his party legislators, where he allegedly broke down. He is also alleged to have announced his decision to stay away from the House "till I return to power". Naidu then addressed the press and broke down once again. He said that despite his wife never interfering in politics, neither when her father (N.T. Rama Rao) was the Chief Minister nor when he himself was the Chief Minister, her name was being dragged in and her character assassinated by YSRCP leaders. He added that during the last two-and-a-half years the ruling party had crossed all limits.

Chandrababu Naidu recalled that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the then Chief Minister, had also humiliated his (Naidu’s) mother. He hoped that his wife would file a police complaint against YSRCP legislators for resorting to character assassination. He said she should even take it up with the women’s commission.

Naidu’s tears come just days after his party suffered a crushing blow in civic elections in his bastion of Chittoor district, with the YSR Congress winning 19 of the 25 wards in Kuppam municipality. It was the first time that the TDP had lost in the area, and this came as a major embarrassment to both party leaders and the rank and file.