TDP members suspended, called in later

Hyderabad: Following the members of the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) disrupting of the proceedings of the Assembly in the morning session on Wednesday, they were all suspended.

The party chief and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu were also suspended.

The members were called in to take part in the House later. They were called in through a revocation resolution, after some of the opposition leaders and Speaker Suresh Reddy appealed to the government to reconsider its decision.

The Speaker however, clarified that the damage caused by the TDP members to the property of the Assembly while leaving the House would be recovered from the legislators concerned as per the rules of the House.

Earlier, the Speaker had to adjourn the House for ten minutes, which was extended to over an hour after pandemonium prevailed as leaders of various parties creating acrimonious scenes and carrying placards trooped to the well of the House, demanding debate on their Adjournment Motions.

The Speaker later held a meeting of Floor leaders to arrive at a decision on how to run the business of the House without disruption.

After the House reassembled, Reddy announced that a consensus had been arrived at to postpone all the listed business and after the Zero Hour, the ongoing debate on the implementation of the 610 GO would continue.

He also informed that Home Minister would make a statement on the lathi-charge and arrest of CPI leaders in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.

When he called Dr Nagam Janardhana Reddy to make a Zero Hour mention, he once again raised the issue of acquisition of the assigned lands by Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, which had plunged the House into turmoil for the past few days.

The TDP, TRS, CPI (M) and BJP members met the Secretary on Tuesday to the Governor and submitted memoranda demanding the dismissal of the Chief Minister, alleging that he had alienated the lands assigned to the poor and oppressed.

Reddy objected to the raising of the issue as it was discussed threadbare in the House for three days.

Finance and Legislative Affairs Minister K Rosaiah expressed surprise that the party which agreed to the smooth functioning of the House in the Floor leaders meeting five minutes ago chose to disrupt the proceedings of the House once again as soon as it reassembled.

When the Speaker named the members, Rosaiah read out the names of the members present and moved a resolution under sub-rule (2) of rule 300 of the Assembly rules seeking suspension of the TDP members from the House for the morning session on Wednesday.

However, CPI (M) floor leader Nomula Narasimhaiah prevailed upon the TDP members and made them sit back.