Congress Targets BRS Over Remarks Against Telangana Speaker

Hyderabad (TG): The opening day of the Telangana Assembly session witnessed high drama on Monday, with Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders, including K T Rama Rao and T Harish Rao, detained outside the Assembly premises while the ruling Congress raised allegations of objectionable remarks against Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar by a BRS leader. A confrontation also broke out between BRS leaders and police outside the Assembly.The Congress alleged that BRS MLC Tata Madhu had made objectionable remarks against Prasad Kumar, a Dalit leader holding the constitutional office of Speaker. However, Tata Madhu denied making any such statement.Raising the issue inside the House, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy strongly condemned the alleged remarks attributed to the BRS MLC and demanded accountability from BRS president K Chandrashekar Rao."I am demanding that KCR apologise," Revanth Reddy said during the proceedings. He also sought the resignation of the BRS leader accused of making the remarks and demanded action against him.The Chief Minister further said the membership of the legislator responsible for the alleged remarks should be revoked, arguing that such conduct against the presiding officer of the House could not be tolerated.Congress leaders rallied behind the Speaker, with SC legislators meeting Revanth Reddy and urging strict action against Tata Madhu.Congress leaders claimed that the controversy was particularly serious because Prasad Kumar is a Dalit and the remarks were allegedly directed at him in his capacity as Speaker.The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee demanded the immediate suspension of Tata Madhu from the Legislative Council over the alleged remarks against the Assembly Speaker and burnt his effigy in protest.The controversy came amid a separate confrontation outside the Assembly, where BRS working president KT Rama Rao, former minister T Harish Rao and other party legislators were detained after attempting to enter the premises wearing black T-shirts to protest the Congress government's 1,000-day rule.The political confrontation intensified after the Telangana High Court directed the DGP not to prevent BRS MLAs from entering the Assembly, adding another dimension to the dispute over the treatment of Opposition legislators.With the Congress demanding disciplinary action over the alleged remarks and the BRS accusing the government of suppressing the Opposition, the first day of the Assembly session ended amid a bitter political confrontation. The standoff is likely to continue inside and outside the House for the remainder of the session.