BJP MLA suspended from Telangana Assembly for remark against Speaker

Hyderabad: A remark judged as inappropriate by theTelangana Legislative Assembly Speaker has resulted in the suspension of BJP legislator Eatala Rajender. Rajender's remark on Tuesday was against the speaker and his suspension is for the rest of the ongoing session.

After Minister for Legislative Affairs Vemula Prashanth Reddy moved a resolution and the same was passed by a voice vote, Speaker P. Srinivas Reddy announced Rajender's suspension.

As soon as the house met for the day, Vinay Bhaskar of ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) brought up the matter and demanded an apology from Rajender.

Rajender was a member on the TRS ticket. However, after being dropped from the State Cabinet by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao last year, Rajender had quit TRS and joined BJP. He was later re-elected to the Assembly from Huzurabad constituency on the BJP ticket.

When the Speaker asked Rajender to speak, Prashant Reddy intervened to say that the member should apologise instead of giving a clarification as he has publicly made the inappropriate remark and latter defended it.

The minister also alleged that Rajender was always looking to get suspended from the House and create a ruckus outside. He recalled that during the previous session, Rajender had got himself suspended due to his behaviour in the House over the issue of Governor's address.

Prashant Reddy said that Rajender has no intention of participating in the debate. "We want you to sit in the House and participate in every debate. We request you to say sorry to the Speaker and participate in the deliberations," he said.

The Speaker also suggested to Rajender to respond to the mood of the House. He also observed that it's the responsibility of all members to protect the honour of the House.

When Rajender stood up and said that he had been a member of the House for a long time and asserted that the Speaker is like his father, the minister intervened again and asked if somebody would use such objectionable words against his father.

Expressing unhappiness over BJP not being invited to the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting, Rajender had said on September 6 that the Speaker should not be a robot in the hands of the Chief Minister.

Taking strong exception to Rajender's remark, the Legislative Affairs Minister had demanded that he tender an unconditional apology to the Speaker.

Terming BJP MLA's remark derogatory and an insult to the Assembly, Prashanth Reddy had said if he failed to apologise, action will be initiated against him as per Assembly rules. The Minister maintained that it is Speaker's decision to invite a party to the BAC meeting.

(Based on IANS feed)