Lok Satta chief Jaiprakash manhandled in Andhra assembly

HYDERABAD - Lok Satta party president Jaipraksh Narayan was allegedly manhandled by Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) legislators within the premises of the Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly Thursday.

The incident took place soon after Jaiprakash addressed the media, criticising the disruption of the governor’s address to the joint session of the assembly and council by opposition parties.

Condemning the behaviour of TRS and other pro-Telangana legislators, the Lok Satta chief termed the disruption as violation of the constitution. He said that if the situation continued like this, then president’s rule should be imposed in the state.

As the former bureaucrat was leaving after addressing the media, TRS legislators heckled him, raising slogans of Jai Telangana. A TRS leader hit him on his head even as the police came to his rescue.

Jaiprakash, who is against bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, complained to Deputy Speaker Nadendla Manohar.

Pained over the development, the Lok Satta president said he was contemplating to resign from the assembly. Congress legislators were trying to convince him not to take the step.

Jaiprakash had resigned from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in the 1990s to launch Lok Satta, a movement for democratic reforms. Before the 2009 elections, he turned it into a political party and was elected from Kukatpally assembly constituency in Hyderabad.