24 BRS MLAs Suspended From House For 2 Days

Hyderabad: High drama unfolded in the Assembly on Sunday as Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar suspended 24 BRS MLAs for two days, until the end of Budget Session, for disrupting proceedings and referred the conduct of BRS Huzarabad MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy to the ethics committee.

The suspension of BRS MLAs, including senior leaders K.T. Rama Rao and T. Harish Rao, came after party members stalled the House for nearly three hours by raising slogans and trooping into the Well. They demanded the dismissal of revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy over alleged illegal mining activities linked to Raghava Constructions reportedly associated with his family, and sought the constitution of a House committee to probe the issue.
Despite repeated appeals by the Speaker to return to their seats, the BRS members remained defiant. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy interveneed and urge strict action to ensure the smooth conduct of business, particularly with key Bills pending on the last two days of the session.
Simultaneously, tensions escalated between Congress and BRS members over the alleged behaviour of Kaushik Reddy towards BRS ‘rebel’ MLA Kadiyam Srihari. Congress members accused Kaushik Reddy of making threatening gestures in the House and demanded his expulsion, calling his conduct unethical and a violation of Assembly norms. Some legislators also described the behaviour as indicative of “upper caste arrogance” against a senior Dalit leader.
The Chief Minister condemned the incident, asserting that members must speak only with the Speaker’s permission and stressing that leaders like Srihari, whom he described as being of stature equal to that of former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, deserve respect. While acknowledging demands for Kaushik Reddy’s expulsion, the Chief Minister suggested referring the matter to the ethics committee instead of immediate dismissal.
“We are not inclined to dismiss Kaushik Reddy's membership at this stage. Let the ethics committee examine his conduct,” the Chief Minister said, while reiterating that members disrupting proceedings should face suspension.
Following continued disruptions, legislative affairs minister D. Sridhar Babu moved a motion for suspension, which was passed by voice vote. The House subsequently adopted a motion to refer Kaushik Reddy’s conduct to the ethics committee.