House rocked by T slogans, suspensions on Budget Day

As many as 12 MLAs, seven of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, four of the Communist Party of India and one from the Bharatiya Janata Party, were suspended for the day from the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly after they tried disrupt the state budget presentation speech by Finance Minister Anam Ramnarayan Reddy on Wednesday.

The suspensions were ordered by Deputy Speaker Nadendla Manohar after a resolution to this effect was moved after MLAs from the TRS, CPI and the BJP attempted to disrupt Mr Ramnarayan Reddy’s speech, by trying to snatch copies of the Budget papers.

The attempts forced Mr Ramnarayan Reddy to deliver his speech, guarded by a ring of marshals and Congress MLAs. In doing so, he became only the second person from Nellore district to present the state budget, the first one after former chief minister who was holding the additional portfolio of finance minister Bejawada Gopala Reddy in 1956.

Almost all through his hour-long budget speech, the Telugu Desam Party MLAs from Seemandhra regions were seen shouting slogans while their party colleagues from Telangana staged a walkout and boycotted the Budget presentation.

Besides this, 13 MLAs, known to be loyal to former Kadapa MP YS Jaganmohan Reddy, boycotted the speech and left the Assembly Hall shouting slogans.

Earlier, marshals and Congress MLAs had to physically prevent the TRS MLAs from snatching the copies of the budget speech from Mr Ramnarayan Reddy’s hands.

Even earlier, Deputy Speaker Nadendla Manohar was forced to adjourn the Session eight minuters after it assembled after TRS MLAs refused to stop their slogan shouting.

Fifteen minutes later, the House resumed its session, only to be adjourned after the TRS MLAs shouted slogans in favour of Telangana while loyalists of Mr Jaganmohan Reddy gave voice to slogans calling for immediate release of the fee reimbursement arrears.

Mr Manohar announced that the Question Hour would be postponed to later because of the time lost and also declared that the Zero Hour would be taken up immediately. This prompted Mr Jaganmohan Reddy’s supporters to shout slogans against the government over the fee arrears issue while some Congress MLAs from Telangana shouted slogans in favour of a separate state. The  TRS MLAs did not join in the slogan shouting this time around since they were staging a sit-in near the Speaker’s podium.

Mr Ramnarayan Reddy at this point stood up to request the Members to allow proceedings to function and also let him begin his budget presentation. This prompted slogan shouting again, leading Mr Manohar to announce a 10-minute adjournment.

As soon as the House reassembled, the resolution to suspend the MLAs for the day was moved and soon after the budget presentation began.