Bharat Rashtra Samiti member G. Jagdishwar Reddy speaking in Telangana Assembly.
| Photo Credit: Screengrab of video on handle @jagadishBRS on X
A comment made by Bharat Rashtra Samiti member G. Jagdishwar Reddy against Speaker G. Prasad Kumar created a furore in the Telangana Legislative Assembly on Thursday (March 13, 2025) leading to adjournment of the House for a few hours.
Mr. Reddy – who participated in the debate on the Motion of Thanks to Governor’s address presented to the joint sitting of the legislature on Wednesday – criticised the alleged failures of the ruling party in implementing the promises it made in the run-up to the Assembly elections 2023. “Where is one tola gold for women? Where are the scooters promised to girl students?” he asked.
The Speaker advised the member to confine himself to the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address and not speak in violation of the rules and procedures of the House. When Mr. Reddy insisted that he did not deviate, the Speaker said questioning the Chair itself was in violation of the rules and advised the member to desist from such comments.
The BRS member however persisted claiming that he did not violate any provisions. He asserted that the House belonged to all the members and the Speaker was elected by the members. He went ahead to say that he was speaking about the rights of the members and the Chair, claiming all members including the Opposition members had equal rights in the House.
This led to furore in the House with Congress members strongly opposing the BRS members’ comments and demanding an unconditional apology from Mr. Reddy. Amid the continuing din, some Congress members like Adluri Lakshman Kumar demanded that the member be suspended from the proceedings of the House for his remarks against the Speaker’s institution.
With the members indulging in criticism and counter criticism, the Speaker adjourned the House.
Earlier, Mr. Reddy ridiculed the Governor’s address claiming it appeared as though Artificial Intelligence was used in its preparation. He criticised the government for its claims on the implementation of Crop Loan waiver and crediting Rythu Bharosa amounts into farmers accounts.
The government whip Adi Srinivas said the BRS leaders could not digest the spree of welfare programmes initiated by the Congress Government and were indulging in criticism of the Government. “They cannot see good things because of their jaundiced eyes,” he alleged.
Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy recalled how the BRS (then TRS) went to town claiming that a dalit would be made Chief Minister after the formation of Telangana and promised to give three acre land to all dalit families. “The BRS has been an anti-dalit party as can be seen from the manner in which a dalit Opposition leader (Mr. Bhatti Vikramarka) lost his post after the former poached the Congress MLAs,” he alleged.
Published – March 13, 2025 04:14 pm IST
