10 TDP MLAs suspended from Telangana assembly

Ten Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLAs were suspended from the Telangana state legislative Assembly for the entire Budget session for showing disrespect to the national anthem while a Congress member was forced to apologise to the House for the same reason on Monday.

The action came after Speaker Madhusudhana Chari ruled that these members were disrespectful to the national anthem when it was being played in the House ahead of the ceremonial address of Governor ESL Narasimhan on Saturday.

The Speaker gave his ruling after the leaders of all parties requested him to take appropriate action if the members were found guilty in this matter.

The House witnessed pandemonium during the governor’s address as several members were found hurling accusations against each other based on their party affiliations.

Raising the subject in the House, legislative affairs minister, T Harish Rao, first appealed to the TDP members that they should apologise for their behaviour even as they continued with their slogan shouting in protest of some other issue. After a few appeals, the Speaker announced the suspension of 10 TDP members for the entire session based on the recommendation of the legislative affairs minister.

When the turn of the 'erring' Congress member Sampath Kumar came, party's floor leader K Jana Reddy promptly asked him to tender his apologies for being disrespectful to the national anthem.

Defying the leader’s suggestion, Sampath Kumar said the entire video footage had to be reviewed to ascertain the role of the ruling TRS members before pointing a finger at him. However, the member finally relented.

The TDP members termed this whole exercise as a conspiracy of the ruling party just to keep them outside the House.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Assembly speaker K Siva Prasad on Monday asked one of the ruling party members to withdraw his words on the national flag when the latter chose to target the opposition YSR Congress Party stating that the flag meant just a piece of cloth for them.