Twenty-two BRS legislators, including party working president KT Rama Rao and former minister T Harish Rao, were suspended from the Telangana Assembly for the remainder of the monsoon session after protests over the alleged mistreatment of women members by police, according to a report by Times of India – Hyderabad.
The suspension followed demonstrations inside the House by BRS members, who raised slogans demanding an apology over the alleged police behaviour. Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar questioned the propriety of legislators standing in front of the Speaker and raising slogans during proceedings.
The issue resurfaced in the Assembly on Wednesday after Minister Adluri Laxman objected to an alleged “purification” ritual carried out outside BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao’s farmhouse at Erravalli in Siddipet district. The ritual involved sprinkling turmeric water after members of Scheduled Caste groups staged a protest at the site a day earlier.
Laxman said the act amounted to an insult to Dalits and sought a discussion in the House. Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka also condemned the incident, saying that “feudal tendencies” would not be tolerated, according to the report.
The remarks triggered fresh protests from BRS legislators, who continued to demand an apology over the alleged police mistreatment of women legislators. The confrontation added to tensions in the Assembly, where the suspension had already limited the participation of a large group of opposition members for the rest of the session.
The Speaker said legislators could raise the issue if they submitted it in writing. He also objected to members positioning themselves in front of the Speaker and conducting slogan-shouting protests during the proceedings.
The reported dispute brings together two separate issues raised by the opposition and the treasury benches: the alleged conduct of police towards women legislators and the political and social implications of the ritual at Erravalli. The Assembly discussion linked the two controversies as BRS members protested against the police allegations while ministers criticised the alleged treatment of the protest site.
The 22 suspended legislators include senior BRS leaders KT Rama Rao and T Harish Rao. The suspension is scheduled to remain in force for the rest of the monsoon session, according to the report. Further discussion of the police allegations will depend on the written submission sought by the Speaker.
