12 Telangana legislators suspended from Andhra assembly

HYDERABAD - Twelve Telangana legislators were suspended from the Andhra Pradesh assembly for one day Wednesday as they stalled the proceedings, demanding the house to pass a resolution for the formation of a separate Telangana state.

Deputy Speaker Nadendla Manohar announced the suspension of eight legislators of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and four of the Communist Party of India (CPI) after Legislative Affairs Minister Sridhar Babu moved a resolution.

The TRS legislators, including floor leader E. Rajender and Tarakarama Rao, son of party chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao, were suspended as they refused to leave the podium of the house.

The suspended legislators refused to leave the house despite appeals by the deputy speaker and continued raising slogans of “Jai Telangana”, disrupting the budget speech of Finance Minister Anam Ramnarayan Reddy.

Earlier, the house was adjourned twice as the pro-Telangana legislators stalled the proceedings, demanding a resolution on Telangana and release of protesters arrested during the ongoing 48-hour Telangana shutdown.

For the fourth consecutive day, Telangana legislators tried to stall the house. After the budget speech, the deputy speaker adjourned the house till Friday.

The deputy speaker Feb 18 had suspended three legislators of TRS and two of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for one week for their unruly behaviour during Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan’s address to the joint session of both houses a day earlier.