Telugu Desam chief N. Chandrababu Naidu put in a curious performance on the first day of the Budget Session of the Assembly. The Leader of the Opposition walked into the House much after Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan started reading his customary address to the joint sitting of the Assembly and the Legislative Council. Mr Naidu then went on to greet members from different parties, even as the Governor kept reading out his address.

Later, Mr Naidu walked out of the Assembly, his party legislators in tow, even as the Governor’s address was on. The Congress, however, could not control its ire. “For the first time in the history of the Assembly, the Leader of the Opposition walked out during the Governor’s address,” said PCC chief and transport minister Botsa Satyanarayana.

His act of strolling in late outraged the Treasury benches who described the act as “discourteous”. Besides the Telugu Desam, the TRS and BJP also staged a walk-out to protest against the delay in carving out Telangana state. Pandemonium reigned for the first 10 minutes of the Governor’s address though the TRS MLAs toned down their protest when compared to last year. The MLAs stood up and flung copies of the speech at the Governor but remained in their places before staging their walk out. The other parties tried to highlight the liquor scam and other controversies.