TDP ruckus: Anguished Speaker re-invokes ‘Lakshman rekha’ for unruly members in AP Assembly

AMARAVATI: Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Tammineni Seetharam condemned the atrocities of the TDP members in the House on Monday and expressed anguish over the attack on the Chair. “It was not an attack on me, instead it is an attack on the Chair of a constitutional body,” he commented.

Thammineni Seetharam, who said that the members had no right to storm the Speaker’s chair, gave a ruling that any member who crossed the line near the Speaker's podium would henceforth be automatically suspended from the House. He recalled the same ruling he gave on March 15, 2022. He said that, if any person touched the Speaker or the chair, will be suspended for the next three to five sessions depending on the gravity of the incident.

The speaker also agreed to the ruling party's recommendation to refer Monday's unruly events in the House to the Assembly Privileges Committee.

Describing the sequence of events that happened on Monday, the Speaker said that TDP MLA Dola Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy was interrupting the House proceedings right from the beginning of the Assembly session. He said that the TDP MLA had put a placard on his face before it led to the attack on YSRCP MLA Elijah who was trying to protect him. The speaker said that, despite him exercising patience against the continued insults hurled at the Chair, the TDP leaders did not show restraint and created hurdles to the House proceedings.

Seetharam claimed that every member was equal to him and made clear that it was his responsibility to protect their rights during the Question Hour and would not hesitate to take steps to do so. The Speaker called on the members to mend their ways and cooperate with the Chair in the smooth conduct of the proceedings. He promised that he would give a chance to everybody to speak in the House.

Recalling the past incidents during the TDP regime where YSRCP MLA RK Roja was suspended from the House for a year, Thammineni Seetharam said that people had not forgotten such atrocities of the then government and gave a clear mandate in the elections. He said that he had the power to do the same but exercised restraint and gave many chances to the opposition leaders.

He referred to the attack on the Speaker’s Chair as an attack on BCs and stated that he was not scared by such atrocities and would remain firm as ever even in the future. He said that he was not weak and would strive to safeguard the rights of the members of the House.