Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], September 8 (ANI): Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad became emotional and broke down in the House following allegations of verbal abuse by a leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
Tensions escalated at the Assembly gate on Monday as BRS legislators wearing black outfits argued with security personnel after being denied entry. Police subsequently detained KTR, Harish Rao and other BRS leaders and shifted them to local police stations.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, reacting to the allegations of insulting the Speaker in the Assembly, condemned the incident and termed it a "dark day for Telangana."
He alleged that a meeting of the BRS Legislature Party was organised at a farmhouse and accused its leadership of provoking members before sending them to the Assembly.
“This is a dark day for Telangana and an insult to the 40 million people of Telangana. Yesterday, a meeting (of BRSLP-Bharat Rashtra Samithi Legislature Party) was organised at a farmhouse. Their members were called, their leader provoked them to behave in this manner and sent them here. They attacked the police system and today insulted the Speaker using such inappropriate language,” he said.
Revanth Reddy said that the use of objectionable language against the Speaker and alleged insults directed at family members were unacceptable in a democratic society.
He further said that the Speaker holds a position equal to all members of the Assembly and termed the alleged remarks an insult to society as a whole.
“Which society would forgive this, whether in the Middle Ages, under royal rule, during the rule of the Doras (feudal lords), or even in a democracy? This is a serious crime. In this Assembly hall, such objectionable language was used against the Speaker, and family members were also insulted. My friends, the Dalit and tribal members of the Assembly, should consider this an insult to Dalits and tribals. I consider it an insult to society as a whole. The Speaker is equal to all of us. Someone may be a Dora, I may be a Reddy, or someone else may be a Brahmin, but once you are the Speaker, you are equal to all of us,” he added.
The Congress alleged that BRS MLC Tata Madhu had made objectionable remarks against Prasad Kumar, a Dalit leader holding the constitutional office of Speaker.
However, Tata Madhu denied making any such statement.
The incident triggered a political confrontation in the Telangana Assembly, with the ruling Congress condemning the alleged remarks and the BRS leader rejecting the allegations.
The protest also led to a major traffic disruption outside the Telangana State Assembly, with a traffic jam lasting around 30 to 40 minutes as a large number of party workers and police personnel gathered at the spot.
The T-shirts worn by the protesting BRS leaders bore slogans such as "Congress failure in implementing guarantees" and "1000 days of rule are a failure."
Speaking to reporters on the occasion, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao declared that the Congress came to power by making reckless and false promises, thereby deceiving all sections of society.
The BRS Working President alleged that the Congress had made 420 promises, assuring that they would be implemented within 100 days. He noted that these promises were even given in writing on bond papers. However, he pointed out that even after 1,000 days, not a single promise has been fulfilled so far. (ANI)
Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad breaks down in House amid allegations of verbal abuse by BRS leader
