BRS boycots Deputy CM’s reply on budget, stages walkout over disorderly proceedings in Assembly

BRS legislators boycotted the Deputy Chief Minister’s budget reply and staged a walkout from the Telangana Assembly, alleging delays in circulation of budget documents and disorderly proceedings. Harish Rao criticised the government for not adhering to schedule and limiting discussion time.

Hyderabad: The BRS boycotted Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka‘s reply on the State Budget and staged a walkout from the Telangana Assembly on Tuesday, in protest against the disorderly conduct of proceedings and the failure of the government to ensure timely supply of budget documents.

BRSLP deputy leader T Harish Rao objected to the manner in which the House was being run, stating that legislators were asked to submit cut-motion petitions on the budget demands by 5 pm on Tuesday, but the demands for several departments, including Tourism, Sports and Minority Welfare, had not been circulated. “How can we submit cut motions without reading the demands and understanding the government’s proposals? Officials are not respecting the Assembly,” he said, urging the Speaker to intervene.

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Harish Rao also criticised repeated delays in starting the House. He said the Assembly had not convened at the scheduled time on most days and 10-minute tea breaks were stretched for hours. He said that a couple of days ago, the House remained adjourned for over four hours until Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy returned from Delhi, after which the Opposition was denied time for clarifications. He demanded that the government ensure timely circulation of budget papers and adherence to the Assembly schedule.