Hyderabad: Legislative Affairs Minister V Prashanth Reddy on Tuesday condemned the derogatory remarks made by BJP MLA Eatala Rajender against the Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy. He demanded that Rajender tender an unconditional apology failing which action will be initiated as per the legislative rules.
In a statement, the Minister objected to Rajender‘s remarks calling the Speaker as a ‘robot’ without giving the due respect to the latter’s age and position. He reminded that during Rajender’s stint as a Minister in the State Assembly earlier, a decision was taken to provide representation of a political party in the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting, based on their number in the House. Accordingly, the BJP does not qualify, he asserted.
“The BJP is the epitome of anti-democratic practices in the country and we need no advise from its members on running the State Legislature. The Speaker is taking all the decisions as per the existing norms and practices. I am not surprised by the derogatory comments from the BJP which has been degrading all the Constitutional bodies in the country,” he stated.
In response to the BJP MLAs accusing the Speaker of working as per directions from Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, the Minister questioned if they implied that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was directing the Lok Sabha Speaker in performing his duties. He advised Rajender to think twice before making baseless allegations.