YSRCP members suspended

15 MLAs were evicted by marshals from Assembly while five MLCs were suspended from Council

• Heated exchanges between Cong and TDP members
• References to Pandavas & Kauravas
• Palle Raghunatha Reddy, Gandra Venkataramana Reddy and Vatti Vasant Kumar speak on day two

Hyderabad: The State Assembly and the Council witnessed acrimonious scenes on Thursday as YSRCP MLAs resorted to stalling of the proceedings resulting in their suspension from both houses for the day. While 15 YSRCP members were suspended from the Assembly, five members were suspended in the Council.

As soon as both the Houses assembled, YSR Congress members rushed to the well demanding that the bifurcation process be stopped. The YSRCP floor leader Y S Vijayalakshmi said the party was not against debate on the Bill, but it should be preceded by voting to reject the decision to divide the State.

As the YRCP members did not relent, minister for legislative affairs Sailajanath moved the motion seeking suspension of 15 members, initially for two days which was later changed to one day. As the members refused to move out of the house, the Speaker had to call the marshals to evict them. Soon after this, the YSRCP members staged a dharna near Ravindra Bharati cross roads and were arrested by the police.

When the discussion began, the Congress and the TDP members were locked in making claims and counter-claims that it is they who are pure and honest like the Pandavas on the issue of separate T state. This comparison led to heated arguments between both sides during the discussion on the draft State Re-Organisation Bill-2013 on Thursday. The controversy resulted in exchange of heated words between Congress and TDP when Palle Raghunatha Reddy alleged that AICC president Sonia Gandhi was going ahead with the process of bifurcation of the state to make her son Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister. Minister for Panchayat Raj K Jana Reddy took strong objection to it and said that the members should not refer to a person who was not a member of the House.

He also said if one had to explain as to who were responsible for the Congress party to take a final decision on bifurcation of the state, many things would have to be quoted. Raghunatha Reddy, amidst arguments between the treasury benches and TDP members, concluded his speech saying that the Centre had adopted the attitude of the Kauravas towards the Seemandhra people and they were being subjected to great injustice.

Government Chief Whip Gandra Venkataramana Reddy who was the next speaker felt that the TDP member had drawn a wrong parallel. He said the rift between the Seemandhra and Telangana leaders was akin to the war of Mahabharata. He said the Kauravas were in majority who had done injustice to the Pandavas. Here, it was the Seemandhra people who were in majority and had perpetuated injustice on the Telangana people. He said the Kauravas who were more in numerical strength refused to give five towns to the Pandavas. Similarly, the Seemandhra people were trying to stall the T state consisting of 10 districts, he said.

Turning his ire to leader of opposition N Chandrababu Naidu, Reddy said that Naidu during his nine-year rule had banned the use of the word Telangana in the Assembly and had neglected development of the T region. This invited sharp reaction from the Telangana TDP members. E Dayakar Rao alleged that it was the Congress party which had stirred the T issue under the leadership of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy to win the elections in 2004.

He said the Congress and the TRS had conspired in deceiving the people of Telangana for 'votes and seats’. This remark sparked a fresh wave of protests from the Congress benches. Unrelenting, Dayakar Rao said, "Aren't you ashamed of yourselves for dragging the T-issue for 10 long years and forcing hundreds of Telangana youngsters to lay down their lives?” Reacting to this remark, TRS legislator T Harish Rao lashed out at Naidu for his “inconsistent policies,” on the bifurcation of the state. "Naidu is known for his doublespeak. Isn't it a fact that Naidu had recently claimed that he had stopped formation of the T state during the NDA regime? Naidu was master of politics of backstabbing and was now talking of 'equal justice,' Rao said.

The war of words between the members led to noisy scenes in the House and the TDP members rushed to the well of the House and demanded that the chair seek an apology from Harish Rao. In a counter move, TRS legislators sought withdrawal of comments made by Dayakar Rao against the TRS leadership. Amidst the din Deputy Speaker Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka adjourned the House for the day at 4.20 pm.