Sridhar Babu defends ban on T-shirts with slogans

Hyderabad: Recalling that the BRS government itself had framed rules after the formation of Telangana prohibiting banners and placards in the House, Legislative Affairs Minister Duddilla Sridhar Babu on Monday clarified that legislators are free to wear T-shirts of any colour in the Assembly, but T-shirts carrying slogans would be treated as placards and would violate House conventions.

Sridhar Babu said the T-shirt worn by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had no print on it and that members could wear black, white, pink or any other colour. Addressing a press conference at the CLP Media Hall, the minister said the Opposition had every right to protest in a democracy, but such protests should be conducted within the rules and with due respect for the dignity of the legislature. He said the Speaker and Legislative Council Chairman were responsible for maintaining decorum on the respective House premises.

Sridhar Babu also demanded that BRS chief K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), K.T. Rama Rao and T. Harish Rao apologise to Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar over the alleged derogatory remarks made by BRS MLC Thatha Madhu. He questioned why the BRS leadership had not condemned the remarks, particularly those concerning the Speaker’s mother.

The Minister alleged that BRS legislators had also behaved improperly with police personnel during protests and claimed that videos showed KTR, Pochampally Srinivas Reddy and Naveen Reddy involved in the incident.

He condemned the alleged assault and use of abusive language against police. Sridhar Babu said all legislators had a responsibility to uphold the dignity of the Speaker and the legislative system and urged KCR to attend the Assembly and respond to the conduct of his party members.

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