TRS Legislators suspended from Assembly, TDP, BJP, CPI, CPM walkout

The Andhra Pradesh State Assembly on Tuesday finally started discussions on the issue of farmers hit by heavy rains and floods in the Coastal regions after nine Telangana Rashtra Samithi Members were suspended and evacuated from the House for continuing to protest against the issue of withdrawal of police cases against students.

The House witnessed walkouts by the Members of the Telugu Desam Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) while the Praja Rajyam Party registered its protest but did not resort to a walkout.

Earlier, as soon as the House met at 9 AM, the TRS Members rushed to the Speaker's podium and started raising slogans for withdrawing all the cases against the students despite Deputy Speaker Nadendla Manohar's plea to resume their seats.

TRS Floor Leader Etala Rajender said that there was no essence in what the government had said on the lifting of cases issue. There is no link between what they preached and practiced, he said.

Home Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy clarified that out of 8000 cases booked, not all were students. Some of them were outsiders, she said. However, in the light of the future of the students the government was ready to consider, study and scrutinise the cases.

In respect of what MIM demanded that cases booked against those involved in the Masjid blast be scrapped, Ms Indra Reddy said that those cases were also under study.

Revenue Minister N Raghuveera Reddy made it clear that the house was not the platform for taking government decisions. The government takes decisions elsewhere and announces these decisions in the House for Members' information, he stated.

The TRS Members however, were in no mood to listen and continued their protests at the podium. Finding the TRS Members not relenting and continuing to stall the business of the Assembly, the Revenue Minister moved the motion for the suspension of the TRS Legislators from the house for the day. Later the TRS Members were evicted from the assembly.

Opposition Walkout

Subsequently, the Deputy Speaker informed the Members that the Question Hour would be taken up.

Mr Manohar was immediately interrupted by Members belonging to the TDP and the PRP who insisted that a discussion be taken up of the issue of rain-hit farmers and the Question Hour be put off.

The BJP MLA G Kishen Reddy said if the House could not go on as scheduled 'let us all tour the flood-affected areas.'

The CPM and Lok Satta Party leaders were of the opinion that after spending crores of rupees on the state assembly meetings, a debate on farmers was a must. 

PRP leader Chiranjeevi favoured cancellation of Question Hour and discuss the farmers' problems. When the Minister agreed, the opposition raised slogans  for withdrawal of cases against students.

The Home Minister rose and said the government was ready to drop the cases but the cases were under the scrutiny and that all those 800 booked were not students. Finding that the Home Minister was unrelenting the opposition members from TDP, CPI, and BJP protested and staged a walk-out over the issue.