YSRC MLA Roja gets suspension yet again for a year

Hyderabad: While accepting the Privileges Committee recommendation of suspending YSR Congress MLA R.K. Roja for a year, the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Monday gave the MLA another opportunity to give her views regarding her suspension, in person before the Committee.

Ms Roja’s suspension will stay in force till the Committee submits its report to the House. The Privileges Committee’s recommendation of suspending Roja for an year is in addition to the earlier decision of the House to suspend her for one year from December 18, 2015.

The House meanwhile decided to defer taking action on YSRC MLA Kodali Nani. It also exonerated YSRC MLAs Jyothula Nehru, Ch. Bhaskar Reddy and K. Sridhar Reddy since they expressed regret for using unParliamentary language on the floor of the House.

The House opined that while respecting the Judiciary, the House should protect its severity and rights. The House held a short discussion on the Privileges Committee report and the High Court orders on suspension of Roja in the absence of YSRC members who boycotted the Assembly.

After the debate on the Committee report, Speaker Kodela Sivapr-asada Rao said, “Everyone commits mistakes, it is not acceptable, but not rectifying the mistakes is wrong. There are three ways to resolve such issues, one is to express regret, second is openly tendering an apology in the Hou-se and the third  is compromising. But YSRC MLA R.K. Roja adopted the war path.”

The Speaker said that the House was supreme and it will protect its supremacy. Earlier, proposing the resolution, legislative affairs minister Yana-mala Ramakrishnudu said that the House and Speaker has absolute powers and no one could question their decisions.

Mr Ramakrishnudu said that everyone should respect the judiciary but in the internal issues of the House it had absolute power to take any decision and change the rules.

About 15 members of the ruling TD participated in the debate. They found fault with  Roja for approaching the courts regarding her suspension and said that she should have resolved the issue in the House. They asked the House to accept the Privileges Committee report, which recommended one-year suspension of MLA Roja.

YSRC says panel ignored 20 notices
YSR Congress has criticised the privileges committee decision on party MLA R.K. Roja. Party MLAs who boycotted the Assembly on Monday and met at Lot-us Pond said the abusive comments made by Telugu Desam leaders including Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu were ignored while Ms Roja was punished. Ms Roja’s suspension for a year was an attempt to make the Opposition voiceless, the meeting felt.

YSRC MLA Giddi Eshwari said, “We urge the Chief Minister to avoid showing contempt, not be vindictive to women and not spread falsehood, as no Opposition member was present in the House. The clippings shown in the media were all one-sided and they showed only Roja and the camera was not panned to the other side to show what the provocation for her reaction was,” she said.

“We did not know that the Privileges Committee has so many powers and we are unable to comprehend what happened to the 20 notices we have given to the committee for consideration. None of them was taken up but Roja was targeted as Chandr-ababu Naidu is scared of her after her impressive and explosive talk on Call Money Sex Racket,” the MLA said.