Telangana Assembly Monsoon Session Opens with BRS Protest Over Unmet Promises
BRS MLAs were barred from Telangana Assembly for black tees; BJP protests led to a 15-minute adjournment.
The monsoon session of the Telangana Assembly began on a turbulent note on Monday, with opposition members clashing with police outside and staging protests inside the House.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) legislators, including working president K.T. Rama Rao and MLAs Kaushik Reddy, Pochampalli Srinivas Reddy, and former minister G. Jagadish Reddy, were stopped at the entrance for wearing black t-shirts that carried the slogan 'Congress failed to deliver promises in 1000 days'. Police objected to the content, leading to arguments and a physical scuffle as MLAs attempted to push past.
The BRS claimed that KTR and Jagadish Reddy sustained minor injuries during the incident. Former ministers Sunitha Reddy and Sabitha Indra Reddy alleged ill-treatment by police, with Sunitha Reddy in tears, claiming she was pulled by her hair.
After being denied entry, deputy leader T. Harish Rao removed his t-shirt, and some MLAs staged a protest at the Assembly lobby entrance against the alleged police high-handedness. The detained MLAs were later shifted to Telangana Bhavan.
Earlier, BRS legislators paid tributes to Telangana martyrs at Gun Park. Speaking to media there, KTR said the party would raise issues related to lands under the prohibited properties list (Section 22A of the Registration Act) and unpaid fee reimbursement dues.
Inside the Assembly, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators led protests, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House for 15 minutes without transacting any business.