By IANS
Hyderabad : Legislators of Andhra Pradesh's opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) were Monday suspended from question hour and physically lifted from the assembly for stalling proceedings.
While the TDP tried to raise the issue of police 'highhandedness' against its party's leaders, the TRS MLAs were protesting a government order on irrigation that they said was against the interests of the backward Telangana region.
Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy announced that 15 TDP legislators – including leader of opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu – were suspended when they demanded an immediate debate on its leaders being arrested when they were going to the Obulapuram Mining Corporation (OMC) in Anantapur district near the Karnataka border.
The issue was brought up as soon as the house met and opposition legislators rushed to the speaker's podium when he turned downed their demand. Amid the pandemonium, the speaker adjourned the house for 10 minutes.
Noisy scenes continued when the house reassembled and TDP members kept shouting slogans against the government while the speaker tried to take up the question hour as per the listed agenda.
The speaker announced the suspension of TDP legislators for the question hour. Marshals were called to physically lift them out when they refused to leave the assembly.
Though the TDP has 45 legislators in the 294-member assembly, most were in Anantapur to protest the arrest of their colleagues Saturday when they were going to the OMC, owned by Karnataka legislative council member G. Janardhan Reddy who is said to be a friend of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. TDP alleges that there were several irregularities in giving the mining lease to OMC.
The speaker also suspended 10 legislators of TRS for question hour for stalling the proceedings of the house to protest a controversial irrigation order that they argue is against the interests of the Telangana region.
Marshals physically evicted the TRS legislators after they refused to leave the house.