BRS Boycotts Assembly Session, Accuses Speaker Of Throttling Its Voice
Senior BRS MLA T Harish Rao also alleged that the Congress government was running the assembly "unilaterally" and that the BRS' voice was being "muzzled"
HYDERABAD: The BRS on Friday announced that it was boycotting the ongoing Winter Session of the Assembly, with BRS Legislature Party deputy floor leader T. Harish Rao making it clear that his party would not return to the House for the rest of the session.
The announcement followed a walkout by the party from the House with BRS MLAs saying they were not being allowed to respond to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s comments made during Question Hour on the Musi rejuvenation project.
The BRS decision came even as the government was gearing up for a discussion on Saturday of irrigation projects including the Palamuru Rangareddy lift irrigation scheme (PRLIS) over which BRS president and Leader of Opposition K. Chandrashekar Rao had levelled serious allegations of neglect by the Congress government. The boycott announcement means no representation of the BRS in the Assembly when irrigation issues are taken up for discussion.
Harish Rao told reporters at the Telangana Martyrs Memorial at Gun Park opposite the Assembly where BRS MLAs staged a protest that the BRS has “decided to boycott the session in protest against the Speaker acting in a unilateral manner, and the government’s undemocratic attitude.”
The Speaker, Harish Rao said, “is acting unilaterally and not like the custodian of the House he should be. It is our responsibility to question the government on public importance issues. The Speaker says the Chief Minister cannot be questioned. What kind of an attitude is this? If Opposition is not allowed to speak, then what is the need for a session or we be asked to attend,” Harish Rao said.
Harish Rao said that at the last business advisory committee meeting, it was decided to run the House for seven days, and the committee would meet again to discuss possible extension of the session.
“Today, in the minutes of the meeting circulated to us, it was mentioned that the decision on the session duration was decided to be left to the Speaker. How can this be?”
The BRS leader also criticised the Chief Minister saying “Revanth Reddy continued to use foul language, indulged in body shaming when speaking on Musi River clean up. What needs to be cleaned up is his mouth.”