BRS MLA Jagadish Reddy suspended from Assembly

Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar decided to suspend BRS MLA Jagadish Reddy over his remarks against the Speaker.

On Day 2 of the Budget session, a furore erupted in the Telangana Legislative Assembly as leaders from the ruling Congress and the Opposition BRS clashed during a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor’s speech.

Jagadish Reddy had criticized the Governor’s speech, calling it an “AI-generated script filled with lies.” He alleged that the Congress government had made Governor Jishnu Dev Varma utter 360 lies during his 36-minute speech.

Congress MLAs raised objections, questioning how many promises the BRS had fulfilled during its 10-year term.

Finding fault with the interruptions from the Congress MLAs, BRS MLA and former Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav intervened, urging the Speaker to allow Opposition leaders to present their points. “How can the House function efficiently if ministers behave this way?” he asked.

The Speaker subsequently reminded Jagadish to stay on topic and remain calm. Jagadish Reddy asserted that he had said nothing wrong and questioned the impartiality of the Speaker. “The House does not belong to you (Speaker). It belongs to everyone. Everyone has equal rights in the House,” the BRS leader said, which triggered protests from Congress leaders.

After a brief adjournment, when the proceedings resumed in the afternoon, Congress leaders demanded the suspension of Jagadish Reddy for the remainder of the Budget session. They pointed out that when the BRS was in power, action had been taken against Congress MLAs Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and SA Sampath Kumar, even though they had done nothing wrong.

Soon after the Speaker announced his decision, BRS MLAs staged a walkout.

Reacting to the suspension, BRS MLAs, led by party working president KT Rama Rao, staged a protest near the Ambedkar statue on Necklace Road.

KTR called for a statewide agitation on March 14 (Friday) against the unfair suspension of Jagadish Reddy. He urged activists to burn effigies of the government.

“Revanth Reddy (Telangana Chief Minister) issued orders from Delhi to stifle our voices. However, the struggle won’t stop just because our voices have been silenced,” KTR fumed.

Defending Jagadish Reddy, KTR said the BRS leader was simply questioning the falsehoods propagated through the Governor’s speech. “Congress MLAs were giving a running commentary while Jagadish Reddy was speaking, yet he maintained restraint,” the former IT Minister said.

KTR also pointed out that the government was acting with dictatorial tendencies, despite the BRS leaders agreeing to express regret to the Speaker over the matter. He criticized the fact that Jagadish Reddy was suspended without any clear explanation.