Telangana MLA suspension became the focus of a representation submitted by senior Bharat Rashtra Samithi leaders to Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla in Hyderabad on Wednesday, with the party seeking government reports on incidents involving its legislators and action on security and Assembly-related complaints.
BRS leaders KT Rama Rao, T Harish Rao, Talasani Srinivas Yadav and other legislators met the governor and submitted a representation. The party sought the revocation of the suspension of MLCs Tatha Madhu and Naveen Reddy, arguing that they had not been given an opportunity to explain their side.
The BRS also asked the governor to seek reports from the state government, chief secretary and director general of police on events during the first day of the Assembly session on September 7. The party sought details on why some legislators were allegedly denied entry and requested information about people in civilian clothes who were present at Gate No. 3 of the Assembly premises.
As part of its representation, the party asked for CCTV footage from the Assembly premises to be preserved. The request relates to the BRS account of the events surrounding the entry of its legislators and the proceedings during the session. The report did not include a response from the state government, the Assembly Speaker or the police to these allegations.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, KTR alleged that police personnel, acting at the direction of the government, prevented BRS legislators from entering the Assembly and stopped them on the road. He said the legislators had planned to stage a protest by wearing T-shirts, comparing the proposed protest with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s earlier protest in Parliament.
KTR also alleged that BRS legislator Sunita Laxma Reddy’s saree was pulled during the incident. He described the allegation as the beginning of what he called a “Dushasana episode”. These claims were made by KTR while addressing the media and were not independently established in the report.
The BRS leader further accused the government of politicising the Speaker’s position by repeatedly referring to him as the “Dalit Speaker”. KTR said the party respected the Speaker but alleged that the Congress party was using the description in a manner that insulted the office.
The party also raised concerns over what KTR described as the release of artificial-intelligence-generated photographs and videos connected with the incident. He said the BRS would approach the National Commission for Women if it did not receive what it considered justice in Telangana.
The representation additionally sought action against those responsible for allegedly wishing former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao dead and against people accused by the party of attacking his Erravelli residence on Tuesday. The BRS also asked that enhanced security be provided to the former chief minister.
The governor’s office was asked to obtain reports from the relevant state authorities and examine the issues raised in the representation. The report did not state whether the governor had ordered an inquiry or set a deadline for responses.
