Hyderabad, Aug 1 (PTI) Members of the BRS held a protest in the Telangana Assembly on Thursday demanding an apology from Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy over his alleged insulting remarks against women members of the opposition party.
Hitting back at the opposition party, Revanth Reddy said he always respected women and sisters.
As soon as the House commenced business, the BRS MLAs wearing black badges rose and started raising slogans.
The members entered the well of the House and indulged in sloganeering during a discussion on a bill for setting up skill universities in the state.
Despite repeated requests by Speaker G Prasad Kumar and the treasury benches to return to their seats, the BRS legislators continued their agitation.
AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi asked the Speaker to either give the BRS members a chance to speak or suspend them so that the House would be in order.
“You have to face them or have the courage to suspend them. If you don’t have the courage, you give them the mike,” he said.
After BRS MLA Harish Rao made a favourable statement on the skill university and the Supreme Court’s verdict on empowering states to make sub-classifications of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the party walked out and staged a dharna in front of the CM’s chambers in the Assembly.
Later, they were evicted by the marshals, who carried BRS Working President K T Rama Rao and others out of the Assembly.
The opposition party also called for statewide protests on Thursday against the CM’s comments.
Later, the CM found fault with the BRS for not participating in the debate on the skill university.
He also castigated the opposition party, alleging that it is circulating objectionable pictures and posts on social media on Minister Dansari Anasuya Seethakka “If I show you that (objectionable) video (of Seethakka), you will hit them with footwear,” Revanth Reddy told the Speaker.
Asserting that he always respected women, Reddy alleged that the BRS reached an understanding with Delhi after its MLC Kavitha was arrested.
Later, talking to PTI Videos, K T Rama Rao, termed Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s comments as “highly disgraceful, highly disrespectful and highly reprehensible”, and accused Reddy of not acting like a Chief Minister but a “Cheap” Minister in Telangana.
He made some (comments) which are unbecoming of a Chief Minister, Rama Rao asserted.
“Those kinds of comments against women members who are senior legislators and former ministers. They did not say anything, there was no provocation. I was speaking on Appropriation. He suddenly jumps and intervenes and starts calling them names,” Rama Rao said.
He said when the BRS leaders wanted the mike to put forward their version to be heard, unfortunately the government tried to “bulldoze us therefore we started protesting since yesterday.” He further said the BRS legislators protested in front of the chief minister’s office today, but “we were thrown out, we were detained.” Rama Rao opined that the Chief Minister has to have the grace to come forward to apologise and express regret and withdraw his words.
“We will certainly fight not just for our legislators, but for the women of Telangana who feel insulted and humiliated by these kinds of comments,” Rama Rao added.
The Chief Minister and also the Deputy Chief Minister should unconditionally withdraw their comments and tender an apology immediately, the BRS leader demanded.
The Congress and BRS were engaged in a war of words in and outside the Assembly on Wednesday with BRS taking exception to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s remarks in the House on MLA P Sabita Indra Reddy quitting Congress and joining the regional party in 2019 after ‘promising’ to support his candidature in the Lok Sabha elections.
Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka had criticised Sabita Reddy for quitting Congress and joining BRS despite being a minister in the previous Congress regime for 10 years. PTI GDK VVK VVK SS
About the Author
