Hyderabad: Roads and Buildings and Cinematography Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy on Wednesday accused the BJP and BRS of Telangana Assembly disruption and urged members to cooperate with House proceedings. Speaking in the Assembly, the Minister alleged that both opposition parties had obstructed proceedings since the session began.
Komatireddy also objected to BJP Legislature Party leader A. Maheshwar Reddy’s manner of addressing Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. He said the BJP leader should not have addressed the Chief Minister informally and disrespectfully.
Referring to the BRS’ alleged conduct towards Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar, he also criticised a remark attributed to BJP members. The Minister said BJP members had claimed they came to the Assembly to “rescue” the Speaker from the BRS. He urged them to withdraw the remark.
“From the first day of the Assembly session until today, the only objective of both the BJP and BRS appears to be to obstruct the proceedings,” he said. Komatireddy described the alleged remarks against the Speaker and the use of unparliamentary language as unfortunate.
He said such conduct was “something that should make any civilised society hang its head in shame.” Moreover, the Minister alleged that certain members had made remarks about the Speaker’s mother. He said those comments had resulted in unnecessary disruptions in the House.
Komatireddy also questioned the BJP’s alleged conduct towards Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. “If the BRS insults a Dalit Speaker and the BJP goes to the extent of ‘purifying’ the stage where Dalit leader Mallikarjun Kharge was seated, how can this be justified?” he asked.
The Minister said Kharge was Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and a senior politician. He said the Congress leader had won direct elections for nearly five decades.
“Insulting such a leader amounts to an insult to democracy itself,” Komatireddy said. He also described the registration of an FIR against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his protest against the incident as unfortunate.
Telangana Assembly disruption should end, Minister says
Komatireddy alleged that the BJP and BRS behaved similarly on Telangana Assembly disruption despite appearing to criticise each other. The government was ready to discuss all issues raised by members, he said. Therefore, he urged legislators not to waste House time by disrupting proceedings.
Instead, the Minister asked members to participate in debates on Bills intended to benefit the public. Referring to the Panchayat Raj Department’s Bill, Komatireddy described it as a good initiative. He said the proposed legislation aimed to make gram panchayats self-reliant.
The Minister appealed specifically to Maheshwar Reddy and other BJP legislators to cooperate with House proceedings. He also urged them to facilitate debate on development-oriented Bills.
“The Assembly was elected by the people and should be used to discuss public issues. The time of the people and the House should not be wasted by obstructing the proceedings,” he said.