Vijayawada: TDP members suspended again from Assembly

Vijayawada: For a fourth consecutive day, members of main opposition TDP were suspended from Assembly as they continued to stall proceedings demanding debate on Jangareddygudem hooch tragedy.

Speaker Tammineni Sitaram suspended 11 MLAs from the House for one day after the government moved a resolution.

Like the last three days, TDP members were on their feet as soon as the House met for the day. Though the Speaker rejected their adjournment motion, they insisted on the House taking up debate on the incident in which 25 persons died allegedly after consuming illicitly distilled liquor in Jangareddygudem town during the last few days.

The Speaker said since Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has twice made the statement on the issue, there was no need for any debate.

The opposition legislators continued their protest by raising slogans. They also trooped into the well of the House disrupting the Question Hour. The Speaker pulled up a few MLAs of TDP for recording the House proceedings on their mobile phones. He pointed out that rules do not allow use of mobile phones in the House. He ruled that the members should not bring their mobile phones in the House.

As the MLAs paid no heed to repeated requests of the Speaker to resume their seats, the government moved a resolution for their suspension for one day. After the resolution was passed by a voice vote, the Speaker directed the suspended MLAs to leave the House. As they did not leave the House, the Speaker called marshals to physically remove them.

The opposition party alleged that the Assembly is being run with the help of marshals. Former minister N Chinnarajappa said the Chief Minister made a false statement in the Assembly that there were no deaths due to illicit liquor. The opposition MLAs said the YSRCP government was suppressing their voice by suspending them.

Earlier, minister for panchayat raj replying to a question on transparent administration through village and ward secretariats, said that 11,162 village secretariats and 3,842 ward secretariats were set up in the state. He said with the introduction of village and ward secretariats, government welfare schemes were made available to all eligible people. MLAs Peedika Rajanna Dora and Ambati Rambabu also praised the services being rendered by village and ward secretariats.

After the suspension of TDP members, the House approved the grant in demands submitted by ministries of R&B, water resources, minor irrigation, forest and environment, agriculture, cooperative, animal husbandry, fisheries and civil supplies departments.