Opposition Slams Switching Off Of Mikes In Assembly

Telangana opposition members today claimed that the Chair was denying them adequate time during debates in the Assembly and switching off the mikes while they were still speaking, and vehemently protested for that.

The issue was raised by Leader Of Opposition K Jana Reddy on Wednesday when the House assembled and the question hour was about to begin.

Taking strong objection to the manner in which Deputy Speaker Padma Devender Reddy denied the Opposition members the desired time during the debate on budget allocations for various departments on Tuesday and the abrupt switching off of the mikes while the members were still speaking, Jana Reddy termed it as sheer discrimination against the Opposition.

Jana Reddy said that the Chair needed to be impartial while conducting the proceedings, and also protect the interests and rights of members from both sides. It was very unfortunate that the Deputy Speaker had acted contrary to this by cutting off power to the mikes when the Opposition members were participating in the debate, he lamented.

BJP floor leader G Kishan Reddy also took strong objection to the switching off of the mike while he was still speaking in the House.

Stoutly refuting the charge by the Opposition members, Minister for Legislature Affairs T Harish Rao said that it was very unfortunate for the Opposition members to be accusing the Chair of discrimination and partiality.

Reeling out statistics about the time taken by various parties during the debates, he said that as a matter of fact the ruling TRS was given lesser time than the other parties.

He reminded the opposition that time was being allotted to various parties on the basis of the strength of the parties in the House. However, at times the opposition members were allowed more time than allotted based on the importance of the issue, he claimed.

Rao went a step further in defending the actions of the Chair by reminding the Leader Of Opposition about the manner in which the mike of the Leader Of Opposition Y S Jaganmohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh was repeatedly switched off in the Assembly sessions there. The Leader Of Opposition in the Telangana Assembly was being liberally accommodated, he said.

Speaker S Madhusudhana Chary tried to put an end to the controversy by stating that he had gone through the proceedings of Tuesday and had found that the opposition members were given adequate time, and that the Deputy Speaker was in fact more than accommodating in the time given to the Opposition members.

The Speaker told the members that while conducting the proceedings in the House, the Chair would treat both sides impartially, and that the time for a party would be allotted based on its strength. The members should also understand the constraints of the Chair, he said.

He sought the cooperation of both sides for healthy and constructive deliberations in the House.