Jayadev Galla, TDP lawmaker from Guntur leads the opposition charge during no-trust motion
Highlights
- Jayadev Galla is a foreign-educated TDP lawmaker from Guntur
- He declared wealth worth over Rs 680 crore while contesting 2014 polls
- A first-time parliamentarian, he is managing director of Amara Raja Group
Telugu Desam Party (TDP)'s Jayadev Galla, who initiated the no-confidence motion against the government - the first in 15 years - was a trending topic on social media as he spoke in the Lok Sabha.
The lawmaker was asked by his party chief N Chandrababu Naidu to open the debate even though the motion was originally moved by Kesineni Srinivas on Wednesday.
Jayadev Galla's party was allotted just 13 minutes, but after covering that time, he insisted that he needed half-an-hour more.
He began his speech with a reference to a Telugu movie and said Andhra Pradesh had only seen empty promises since the Narendra Modi government came to power. Both the BJP and the Congress had betrayed Andhra Pradesh, he said.
"Mr Prime Minister if you don't keep your promises, the BJP will be destroyed in Andhra Pradesh. It is not a threat, it is a shraap (curse)."
The 52-year-old foreign-educated lawmaker from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh is a multi-millionaire industrialist. A first-time parliamentarian, he is the managing director of Amara Raja Group and has been counted among India's best CEOs. He is married to Padmavathi, the daughter of a Telugu filmstar.
As he contested his first election in 2014, Mr Galla declared wealth worth over Rs 680 crore.
His attendance in parliament has been 84 per cent and he is known to be among the most articulate MPs.
In a past session, Mr Galla set social media abuzz and trended for days after his speech in the Lok Sabha on Andhra Pradesh's resentment at the unfulfilled promises of the centre - a theme that he spoke on today too.