Twenty-two Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) legislators were suspended from the Telangana Assembly on Wednesday for the remainder of the monsoon session after they disrupted proceedings by raising slogans and entering the well of the House.

The disruption began soon after the Assembly met. BRS members raised slogans, including “we want justice”, and demanded that their concerns be taken up for discussion. BRS Working President K T Rama Rao moved an adjournment motion seeking a debate on the alleged high-handedness of police against the party’s women MLAs two days earlier. The BRS leaders had claimed that police stopped their women MLAs at the Assembly gate.

Rama Rao also sought a discussion on alleged remarks made by some Congress leaders against BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao. The BRS claimed that some ruling party members had made comments wishing for the former Telangana chief minister’s death.

The BRS legislators refused to return to their seats despite repeated appeals from Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar. Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu also asked the protesting members to resume their seats and allow the House to continue its proceedings.

The Speaker told the BRS members that he would examine whether they had submitted their demands to him in writing. Despite the appeals, the legislators continued their protest and remained in the well of the House.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka rejected the allegation that Congress leaders wished death upon K Chandrasekhar Rao. He said he and other Congress leaders had wished Rao good health and a long life. He also said they wished him a long career in public service.

Vikramarka urged the BRS legislators to raise their concerns while remaining in their seats. He objected to what he described as intimidating and aggressive behaviour inside the Assembly.

He also referred to media reports about a purification ritual allegedly carried out by BRS leaders near KCR’s farmhouse at Erravelli. The reported ritual involved sprinkling turmeric water at the location after Congress workers and Dalit activists held a protest there on September 8.

The protest was linked to alleged abusive remarks made by BRS MLC Tata Madhusudhan against Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar. Vikramarka questioned the BRS over the reported act and raised the issue of alleged disrespect towards Dalits.

"We are not here to bear any more humiliation and insult. It's a question of self-respect. Come what may, let's stand for the self-respect of the individuals of the house and the society. More so, we cannot accept insult to you, who is the Speaker," he said.

The Speaker later announced the suspension of the BRS legislators after Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu moved a motion seeking their suspension. The suspension will remain in effect for the rest of the monsoon session.

Those suspended include K T Rama Rao, Anil Jadhav, T Harish Rao, G Jagadish Reddy, Gangula Kamalakar, Kaushik Reddy, Madhavaram Krishna Rao, Kova Laxmi, K Manik Rao, Chinta Prabhkar, Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, Vemula Prashant Reddy, Marri Rajasekhar Reddy, Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, P Sabita Indra Reddy, Kalvakuntla Sanjay, T Srinivas Yadav, D Sudheer Reddy, V Sunita Laxmareddy, Kaleru Venkatesh, Vijayudu and K P Vivekananda.

The BRS has an official strength of 37 members in the 119-member Telangana Assembly. The suspension of 22 legislators means a significant section of the party’s Assembly strength will remain out of the House for the rest of the monsoon session.

The action followed a tense exchange between the ruling Congress and the opposition BRS over the treatment of BRS women MLAs, remarks allegedly made against K Chandrasekhar Rao and the controversy surrounding the protest near his farmhouse. The BRS members had sought to raise these issues through an adjournment motion, but their continued protest inside the House led to the suspension.