Hyderabad: Kodad MLA N. Padmavathi Reddy Assembly protest remarks on Tuesday condemned the alleged mistreatment of women police personnel and derogatory comments against Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar. Kodad MLA N. Padmavathi Reddy made an emotional intervention during proceedings in the Telangana Legislative Assembly.
She said political protest remained a fundamental democratic right. However, she maintained that protests could not justify insulting women in uniform or demeaning personnel performing their duties.
Padmavathi Reddy also stressed that political protests should not undermine the dignity of constitutional institutions. Her intervention followed Monday’s protest by BRS members at the Legislature.
Padmavathi Reddy became emotional while referring to young women constables deployed during the BRS protest. She asked legislators to consider what the women personnel had experienced when several men allegedly removed their shirts in front of them.
“Just imagine what those young women constables must have gone through when several men removed their shirts right in front of them,” she said. “I feel deeply sorry that these women personnel had to face such a situation while merely doing their duty,” she added.
The Congress legislator said she had raised the issue not merely as an MLA but also as a woman citizen. She expressed anguish over the alleged conduct towards women police personnel while they performed their duties.
Padmavathi Reddy Assembly protest stand on slogan T-shirts
Referring to the BRS protest, Padmavathi Reddy said there could be no objection to legislators wearing black as a protest. However, she drew a distinction between black clothing and T-shirts displaying slogans.
She said slogan-bearing T-shirts effectively served as placards. Such placards were not permitted inside the Assembly Hall, she added. Padmavathi Reddy also briefly read from a complaint concerning the alleged treatment of uniformed women police officers.
According to the complaint, women MLAs had approached the Commission with a “profound sense of outrage and distress.” They had taken the step after seeing media reports and video footage concerning the treatment of women police personnel.
Padmavathi Reddy Assembly protest intervention defends Chair
Padmavathi Reddy also addressed the alleged remarks directed against the Speaker and the Chair. She said political differences should never weaken respect for the Legislature as an institution.
“We are all one when it comes to protecting the dignity of the Chair,” she said. “Whether inside the House or outside, it is our responsibility to protect the prestige of this institution,” Padmavathi Reddy added.
Her intervention linked the alleged treatment of women police personnel with the broader responsibility of legislators to uphold institutional dignity.