HYDERABAD: With members of Opposition BRS displaying placards against the government, demanding immediate discussion on the Lagcherla incident, pandemonium prevailed in the House as the winter session of the State Legislative Assembly resumed on Monday.
Amidst sloganeering by BRS members, Tourism Minister Jupally Krishna Rao initiated a short discussion on the tourism sector. When the House was not in order, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka read out the rules and wanted the BRS members not to exhibit placards.
Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar asked the marshals to collect the placards from BRS members. The Speaker also said that he would provide an opportunity to BRS member T Harish Rao to speak if his party members handed over their placards.
However, the BRS members continued with their sloganeering, shouting down the Tourism minister Jupally, following which the Speaker adjourned the House for the day.
Earlier in the day, the BRS members staged a walkout during Question Hour, alleging that there was an inordinate delay in clearing the pending bills for the works done by panchayats, mandals and zilla parishads. However, Panchayat Raj Minister Dansari Anasuya alias Seethakka assured that the government would clear the pending bills to the tune of `690 crore.
Replying to a question raised by BRS MLA T Harish Rao, Seethakka said: “The government has released Rs 450 crore for the GPs so far, we need some time to clear pending bills.”
She also accused the BRS of leaving behind unpaid bills. Harish Rao, who held the Finance portfolio in the BRS regime, could have cleared the bills when in power, she said. “The pending bills are a legacy the Congress government inherited from the previous BRS regime. The former minister and his party MLAs should understand that gram panchayat bills have been pending since the BRS was in power. If you would have sanctioned the bills that time they wouldn’t have been pending today,” Seethakka said.
Harish Rao accused the Congress government of withholding GP bills worth Rs 690 crore for the last one year while Rs 1,200 crore was released to big contractors. He went on to say that salaries haven’t been paid to the MPTC and ZPTC members for nine months.
Not satisfied with her reply, the BRS members staged a walk out. The House was then adjourned for some time for the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting.
The BRS also protested during the BAC meeting and staged a walkout. When the Assembly resumed later, the BRS members demanded immediate discussion on Lagcherla incident but the Speaker rejected the notice given by BRS for adjournment motion on the issue.
BRS notice for privilege motion against Bhatti
The BRS also issued a notice for moving privilege motion against Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka for misleading the House by stating that the total debts of the state were at Rs 6,71,757 crore in the white paper presented to the House in December, 2023 and also in his the Budget speech.
Meanwhile, IT & Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu found fault with the BRS leaders for exhibiting placards in the House. The Opposition party was not following the rules and procedures, he alleged.
Speaking to reporters later, BRS MLA and former minister T Harish Rao wondered whether farmer’s issue was important for the government or the tourism policy. He said that the Congress government stooped to a new low by chaining and detaining farmers from Lagcherla for over 30 days.
“Is tourism more important than the lives and rights of our farmers?” Harish Rao asked.
BRS seeks formation of House Committees
Harish Rao said that during the BAC meeting, the government neither revealed the duration of the Assembly session nor provided clarity on the issues to be discussed. The BAC meeting was meant for facilitating meaningful discussions on pressing issues, he said. “In protest against this lack of transparency and seriousness in the BAC meeting, we staged a walkout,” he said.
Demanding that the Assembly session be be conducted for 15 days, Harish Rao said that the House should discuss the issues of Lagcherla farmers.
During the BAC meeting, the BRS also demanded formation of House Committees with immediate effect to ensure transparency.
The BRS also questioned the Speaker’s unilateral decision on the PAC Committee, highlighting that their party’s opinion was not considered. Regarding the violations of MLAs’ protocol, the Speaker assured the BRS that steps would be taken to prevent such incidents in the future.
The BRS strongly opposed the introduction of Bills in the Assembly without prior discussion in the BAC. The party criticised adjourning Assembly sessions for trivial reasons such as birthdays or weddings.
The BRS raised objections to Vikramarka’s statement outside the Assembly about providing Rs 12,000 to tenant farmers, wondering why such announcements were being made without any discussion in the Assembly. It demanded that a “Zero Hour” be allotted daily for important discussions and debates. The party requested ample time for all parties proportional to its representation in the Assembly.
BRS working president KT Rama Rao, meanwhile, alleged that the government ran away from the House without discussing the Lagcherla farmers’ issue.
SESSION LIKELY TILL DEC 21
HYDERABAD: Though the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting did not make any decision on the duration of the ongoing winter session of the State Legislative Assembly, it is likely to be conducted till December 21. The BAC meeting witnessed heated arguments between members of ruling party and the Opposition.
While, BRS leader T Harish Rao wanted Speaking Gaddam Prasad Kumar to conduct the session for 15 days, the ruling party members said it would be decided by the Speaker. The BRS MLAs objected to the recent arrests of BRS MLAs for wearing Adani-Revanth T-shirts, the Congress MLAs interrupted them, following which the BRS and MIM MLAs staged a walkout from the BAC meeting. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Deputy CM Malli Bhatti Vikramarka, IT Minister D Sridhar Babu and others attended the meeting.
TWO BILLS TABLED IN ASSEMBLY
HYDERABAD: The state government tabled two Bills in the Assembly on Monday. Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar announced the tabling of the Bills — The Young India Physical Education and Sports University of Telangana Bill 2024 and The Telangana Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2024.