BRS MLA Jagadish Reddy suspended for remainder of Telangana budget session

Former BRS MLA Jagadish Reddy suspended from Telangana Assembly for remainder of the budget session for 'disparaging' remarks against Speaker, sparking political controversy.

Former Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA G. Jagadish Reddy was suspended from the Telangana Assembly for the remainder of the ongoing budget session for making ‘disparaging’ remarks against Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar.

The Minister for Legislative Affairs D. Sridhar Babu moved a resolution seeking the suspension of Mr. Reddy and the House passed the resolution. The Speaker then asked Mr. Reddy to leave the House.

Earlier, Congress Ministers and MLAs demanded strict action for ‘lowering the dignity’ of the Chair. In fact, Panchayat Raj Minister Dansari Anasuya Seethakka demanded suspension of the membership for belittling a dalit Speaker.

Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said that such comments on the Chair cannot be tolerated and recalled how the BRS government suspended the membership of Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and Sampath Kumar during its first term just for opposing the Governor’s speech. He said the matter should be referred to the Ethics Committee. He also referred to how a All India Trinamol Congress (TMC) women member was disqualified from the Parliament for violating the Parliamentary practices.

Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka condemned the BRS member’s comments disrespecting the Legislative System. He also called for referring the issue to the Ethics Committee.

After the suspension, all the BRS MLAs left the House and held a dharna at the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar statue near the Secretariat blaming the government for the suspension. They argued that the suspension was to throttle the BRS party’s voice that was raising people’s issues.