Sabitha, Sunitha face another controversy amid Assembly premises incident

Former Ministers Sabitha Indra Reddy and Sunitha Laxma Reddy have faced another controversy after allegedly being manhandled on the Assembly premises. The incident comes two years after their heated exchange with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy during the Assembly session.

Hyderabad: Former Ministers Sabitha Indra Reddy and Sunitha Laxma Reddy have once again found themselves at the centre of a political controversy involving the Congress government. After facing criticism and heated exchanges during the August 2024 Assembly session, the two women legislators were allegedly manhandled on the Assembly premises on Monday.

During the August 2024 session, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, without naming them, had said that some “elder sisters” had cheated the Congress and defected to the ruling party in 2019.

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He had also cautioned BRS working president KT Rama Rao against trusting the “elder sisters”, saying he could otherwise end up sitting at Jubilee Bus Station. Pointing towards Ministers Konda Surekha and D Seethakka in the House, Revanth Reddy had said they believed in him and subsequently became Ministers.

His remarks triggered a verbal duel between the treasury and Opposition benches. Responding to the Chief Minister, Sabitha Indra Reddy said she was being unfairly targeted.

She questioned which party the Chief Minister had joined from and reminded him that she had welcomed his entry into the Congress, besides blessing him and saying he would become Chief Minister in the future.

Later, speaking to media persons on the Assembly premises, an emotional Sabitha Indra Reddy said the remarks of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka had hurt her.

“I did not make any mistake and demand an unconditional apology from them,” she had said.

Cut to Monday, the two former Ministers faced another embarrassing episode when they were allegedly physically manhandled on the Assembly premises.

Sunitha Laxma Reddy said police personnel caught hold of the pallu of her saree and dragged her, while Sabitha Indra Reddy was caught by her hair and pushed. Visuals of the incident circulated extensively on social media, with people from different sections condemning the treatment of the two women legislators.

Questions are now being raised over the Congress government’s handling of the two former Ministers, with critics charging that they have been repeatedly targeted.

The latest incident has also come against the backdrop of Forest Minister Konda Surekha being dropped from the Cabinet last week by the Chief Minister following her daughter Konda Sushmitha’s remarks against him.