HYDERABAD: In a dramatic escalation of the political standoff in Telangana, Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar suspended 22 opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLAs—including party Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR) and senior leader T. Harish Rao—for the remainder of the monsoon Assembly session. The drastic legislative action was taken following severe, continuous disruptions during the morning proceedings, during which opposition members stormed the Well of the House, carried placards, and shouted slogans demanding immediate government accountability. The motion for suspension was formally moved by Legislative Affairs Minister D. Sridhar Babu after repeated pleas from the Chair and senior ministers to restore order went unheeded.
The high-voltage political confrontation erupted immediately after the House convened, as BRS leaders moved an adjournment motion under Rule 63 seeking an urgent debate on two core grievances. BRS lawmakers demanded a discussion on alleged police highhandedness and physical mistreatment of their women legislators during protests at the Assembly gates, alongside controversial public remarks made by a ruling Congress member against BRS chief and Leader of Opposition K. Chandrashekar Rao. When the Speaker declined to take up the adjournment notice and urged the opposition to raise the subject under standard legislative formats, BRS members rushed into the Well of the House, chanting “We Want Justice” and refusing to return to their seats.
The treasury benches strongly defended the Chair’s ruling while condemning the opposition’s aggressive tactics as an intentional effort to stall essential state business. Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka assured the House that the government wished KCR long life and good health, dismissing allegations of ill-intent. However, Vikramarka sharply criticized the BRS leadership, pointing to derogatory remarks made by BRS MLC Tata Madhu against Speaker Prasad Kumar and condemning a recent “purification” ritual conducted by BRS supporters near KCR’s Erravalli farmhouse following a Dalit-led protest. Calling the purification act an unacceptable insult to the Speaker and the broader Dalit community, the treasury benches argued that the opposition’s disruptive conduct violated Assembly decorum.
The extensive list of suspended legislators includes prominent BRS leaders such as G. Jagadish Reddy, Gangula Kamalakar, P. Sabitha Indra Reddy, V. Sunitha Laxma Reddy, Padi Kaushik Reddy, and KP Vivekananda. Following their eviction from the Legislative Assembly chamber, the suspended members marched out in protest and gathered to chart their next legal and political steps. Led by KTR, the delegation proceeded directly to Raj Bhavan to petition Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, submitting visual evidence of alleged police brutality and accusing the Congress-led government of systematically undermining democratic processes and suppressing opposition voices.
