Nine TD MLAs Suspended Again From Assembly

Vijayawada: Opposition Telugu Desam members carried forward their protests in the AP Assembly on Wednesday and Speaker Tammineni Sitaram suspended nine of its MLAs for a day in view of their “unruly” behaviour. On the third day of the budget session, Telugu Desam members tried to stall the proceedings by raising slogans. TD members came up with an adjournment notice and said they wanted a discussion on agricultural mechanization, farmer insurance and other issues.

The speaker disallowed the adjournment motion. The opposition members protested at the Speaker's podium and raised slogans against the government. The ruling party MLAs objected to the habit of TD members disrupting house proceedings on a daily basis. “While TD MLA Butchaiah Chowdary is very experienced, his protests at the Speaker’s podium are severely objectionable,” the YSRC legislators said and urged the Speaker to initiate action so as to enable the house to transact its business



in a normal manner.

Finance minister Buggana Rajendranath proposed the names of some TD MLAs for their immediate suspension. They were Nandamuri Balakrishna, B Ashok, Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary, Nimmakayala Chinarajappa, Ganababu, Velagapudi Ramakrishnababu, Nimmala Ramanaidu, Eluri Sambasiva Rao and Dola Balaveeranjaneya Swamy. These members were swiftly suspended by the Speaker. 

Earlier, Telugu Desam MLAs protested on the farmers' issues by displaying placards against the government. They took out a rally from the secretariat fire station to the assembly. The opposition members alleged that the government has weakened the agriculture sector during the last five years. They said crop insurance was stopped for the farmers and subsidies were not given. They alleged that chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy effectively declared a crop holiday for farmers.