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Highlighting the persistent water leaks from the ceiling at the interim Secretariat of Andhra Pradesh, BJP MLAs walked into the Assembly on Thursday wearing raincoats and holding umbrellas as a form of protest, to attend the monsoon session.
To highlight water leaks in AP Assembly, BJP MLAs come in raincoats with umbrellas pic.twitter.com/CBfqRHxbzV
— CharanTeja (@CharanT16) September 6, 2018
The monsoon session of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly commenced on Thursday following a brief BAC (Business Accounts Committee) meeting by Speaker Kodela Siva Prasad Rao.
While the main Opposition YSRCP has decided to boycott the assembly session protesting against "encouraged defections", BJP- the then ally of TDP, which became its arch-rival after relations soured, has decided to confront it.
Repeated instances of water leaks have been witnessed at the Assembly building since June last year.
In August this year, the continuous rains in Amaravati area had resulted in leakage at the Secretariat as water entered the office of the peshi of state HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao. Some water also entered the peshi's office of YSRCP leader Amarnath Reddy in the temporary Assembly building.
Visuals had shown collapsed and fallen roof parts on the floor, as water continued to drip from the ceiling.
At that time, Opposition parties including YSRCP and BJP had lashed out at the ruling TDP for not following proper procedures in the construction of buildings and accused the government of substandard works.
Following a similar incident in June 2017, the government even launched a CID probe into the leakage of water in Opposition leader Jagan's office in the Assembly. The Speaker had then alleged that there was a conspiracy behind the leaks and claimed that 'miscreants' had cut open the pipes on the roof of the building, which led to water leaking straight into Jagan's office.
Meanwhile, the Monsoon session of the Assembly began in the absence of the main Opposition party YSRCP for the third time since 2017. The Assembly also paid tributes to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who died last month.