AP Budget 2023-24: 14 TDP members suspended from Assembly for unruly behaviour

AMARAVATI: Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Thammineni Seetharam on Thursday suspended 14 members of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for their unruly behaviour at the time of the presentation of the State Budget for 2023-24.

Even as Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy began presenting the annual budget for 2023-24, the TDP members rose on their feet and began protesting. An infuriated Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy expressed displeasure at the behaviour of the TDP members and urged the speaker to suspend the trouble-makers.

Speaker Thammineni suspended 14 of the TDP members for a day for interrupting the Budget presentation by the Finance Minister. Later, Rajendranth Reddy presented the annual budget with a plan outlay of Rs 2,79,279 crores including an estimated revenue expenditure of Rs 2,28,540 crores and a capital expenditure of Rs 31,061 crores.

Even on Wednesday, 12 TDP members and YSRCP rebel MLA Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy were suspended from the Assembly for creating ruckus in the House. Of them, Sridhar Reddy, Payyavula Kesav and Nimmala Ramanaidu were placed under suspension for the entire duration of the budget session.

Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy remained unrelenting and staged a protest near the Speaker’s protest on Wednesday. Stating that he had only urged the government to resolve pending civic problems in his Nellore Rural constituency, he stayed put at the staircase of the Speaker’s podium. He was later evicted by the marshals for not leaving the House on his own after being suspended from the Assembly.

Sridhar Reddy on Thursday vowed to continue his fight by holding a mock Assembly outside the premises. The YSRCP rebel MLA on Wednesday staged a padayatra up to the Assembly premises from the fire station area. Holding a banner listing out all the pending civic issues of his constituency, he walked alone up to the Assembly. On the other hand, the TDP legislators too held a rally holding placards against what they termed as the neglect of irrigation projects in the state by the YSRCP government.