AP Assembly: Naidu, 34 TDP members suspended for morning session

Thirty-four Telugu Desam Party members, including Leader of the Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu, were suspended from the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly for the morning session on Wednesday for obstructing the proceedings on Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy's lands' surrender issue.

The suspensions were later revoked on the request of the other opposition parties but the TDP members preferred to stay away and organise a dharna in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the Assembly complex to mark their protest.

The Telugu Desam members trooped into the well of the House to mark their protests when Speaker K R Suresh Reddy pulled up their colleague N Janardhan Reddy for again raking up the issue of landholdings of the Chief Minister's family during the zero hour.

TDP deputy floor leader N Janardhan Reddy sought to furnish the details of land holdings of Dr Rajasekhar Reddy and family members in the names of two identical companies engaged in forest plantations.

He also wanted to know the fate of the privilege notice given by the TDP against the Chief Minister for allegedly misleading the House. At this stage, the Speaker ordered that the mike of the member be disconnected for raking up an issue, which was debated in the House for three days.

When the Speaker's repeated pleas to the TDP members to go back to their seats fell on deaf ears, Finance and Legislative Affairs Minister K Rosaiah moved a motion under sub-rule 2 of rule 300 of the Assembly rules for the suspension of the TDP members, including Chandrababu Naidu.

Even as the Speaker ordered the suspended members to move out, CPI-M floor leader Nomula Narasimhaiah requested that the suspensions be revoked. CPI floor leader Ch Venkat Reddy and BJP member G Kishen Reddy also urged the revocation of suspensions.

MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, however, felt that the TDP, the main opposition party, which earlier ruled the state, should behave responsibly in the House. In the meantime, the suspended members were evicted from the House by the marshals.

Agreeing to the request of the opposition parties, the Speaker asked the legislative affairs minister to move a motion for revoking the suspensions.

However, the TDP members refused to come back to the House and staged a dharna at the Mahatma Gandhi statue where the members made fiery speeches against the government and ruling party and the Speaker for allegedly scuttling their voice.