BRS working president KT Rama Rao was among 22 party MLAs suspended from the Telangana Assembly on Wednesday for the rest of the Monsoon Session after they disrupted proceedings by raising slogans and entering the well of the House.
The action was taken after BRS legislators demanded an immediate discussion on the alleged deterioration of law and order in Telangana. KTR had moved an adjournment motion over alleged police high-handedness against women MLAs and death threats reportedly issued against BRS chief and Leader of the Opposition K Chandrasekhar Rao.
The suspension came after repeated requests from Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar and senior Congress members for the protesting MLAs to return to their seats.
Other BRS legislators, including T Harish Rao, G Jagadish Reddy, P Sabita Indra Reddy, KP Vivekananda and Vijeyudu, had also submitted a notice seeking a discussion on the matters.
Proceedings were disrupted shortly after the House met, with BRS members raising slogans and demanding justice.
Despite appeals from the Speaker, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu, the protesting MLAs continued their demonstration.
Sridhar Babu moved the suspension motion, following which the Speaker announced the suspension of all 22 BRS legislators for the remainder of the session.
Besides KTR, the suspended MLAs are Anil Jadhav, T Harish Rao, G Jagadish Reddy, Gangula Kamalakar, Kaushik Reddy, Madhavaram Krishna Rao, Kova Laxmi, K Manik Rao, Chinta Prabhakar, Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, Vemula Prashant Reddy, Marri Rajasekhar Reddy, Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, P Sabita Indira Reddy, Kalvakuntla Sanjay, T Srinivas Yadav, D Sudheer Reddy, V Sunita Laxma Reddy, Kaleru Venkatesh, Vijeyudu and KP Vivekananda.
The BRS has 37 MLAs in the 119-member Telangana Assembly. The latest suspensions come against the backdrop of growing tensions between the ruling Congress and opposition BRS, with the latter repeatedly staging protests over issues raised during the ongoing session.
Meanwhile, a BRS delegation headed by KTR is scheduled to meet Telangana Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla in Hyderabad today. The delegation is expected to raise the concerns highlighted by the party during the Assembly session, along with recent developments involving its legislators.
