Biswabhusan Harichandan takes charge as Andhra Pradesh governor

Biswabhusan Harichandan on Wednesday took charge as the new governor of Andhra Pradesh.

His oath was administered by the state's High Court acting Chief Justice C Praveen Kumar.

The swearing-in ceremony took place at Raj Bhavan here in the presence of Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy, his cabinet members, state assembly speaker Tammineni Seetaram, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu and other dignitaries.

Earlier today, the Andhra Pradesh Assembly was adjourned till 1 pm as the new governor was going to take charge. The house was adjourned after question hour was held for a brief time.

Before the adjournment, TDP MLAs staged a walkout after raising slogans demanding chance for Chandrababu Naidu to speak in the House.

Speaker Tammineni Seetaram did not accept their demand, leading to opposition leaders walking out of the House.

Naidu, along with TDP MLAs and MLCs, held a protest in Andhra Pradesh Assembly corridor demanding suspension of three MLAs of their party to be reversed, just before the start of the day's proceedings.

When the Chief Minister's convoy was entering the assembly, TDP MLAs raised slogans against him and later entered the House.

On Tuesday, Naidu and his party MLAs walked out of the Legislative Assembly opposing the move to suspend three of its members on charges of obstructing proceedings of the House.

The three suspended members include K Atchannaidu, Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary and Nimmala Ramanaidu.

The trio was suspended after Legislative Affairs Minister Buggana Rajendranath moved a motion against them as they surrounded the speaker's chair protesting the government's response on pensions for women belonging to backward and minority communities.

The budget session of the Assembly started on July 11 and will continue till July 30.

-ANI