Telangana assembly opens in disorder as lawmakers demand action over remarks against Speaker
Hyderabad’s Telangana Legislative Assembly had a noisy start on Monday as the monsoon session opened amid protests, disruptions and a fresh row over alleged ...
Hyderabad’s Telangana Legislative Assembly had a noisy start on Monday as the monsoon session opened amid protests, disruptions and a fresh row over alleged remarks against Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar. The first day ended the same way it began: tense, unresolved, and with lawmakers set to return on Tuesday.
Speaker row dominates opening day
The immediate flashpoint was the alleged derogatory comment made by BRS MLC Thatha Madusudhan against the Speaker. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and several ministers pressed for an unconditional apology, and they also wanted the member expelled from the House.
Legislative Affairs Minister D. Sridhar Babu said the government would decide how to proceed on Tuesday. He called the Speaker’s post one of the highest offices in the legislature and said it must be treated with respect. The insult, he argued, was not to Gaddam Prasad Kumar as an individual alone, but to the dignity of the chair, the House and the four crore people of Telangana.
He described the day as a dark one for Telangana. The language used, he said, crossed a line that lawmakers should never cross. Strong words. A rough start. And no sign yet of the dispute easing.
Session expected to stay combative
The opening day’s disorder fits a broader pattern for Telangana politics, where Assembly sessions have often turned into battlegrounds over governance, party loyalties and the role of the opposition. This session is also likely to carry the weight of other contentious issues already shaping debate in the state.
Earlier this year, discussion around water politics was expected to take centre stage when Assembly sessions resumed, with Krishna and Godavari river sharing and irrigation projects among the most sensitive subjects. Those files are still politically charged, and they hover over every major sitting. For the ruling Congress, the Assembly is a place to press its case hard. For the opposition, it is a platform to push back just as forcefully.
What happens on Tuesday
All eyes now turn to the next sitting. Sridhar Babu said a decision on the Speaker row will be taken on Tuesday, which means the confrontation is likely to spill over into the next day before lawmakers can move on to other business.
The Assembly has already shown its mood. Loud, agitated and short on compromise. For a legislature that speaks for about four crore people, Tuesday will reveal whether tempers cool or the session opens a longer political fight.
