War of words between Ponnam, Gangula Kamalakar

Hyderabad: A war of words broke out between Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and BRS MLA Gangula Kamalakar on issues including the infamous ‘pepper spray’ incident between Ponnam and then MP Lagadapati Rajagopal that took place in Parliament a decade back. During the discussion on providing infrastructure facilities in Gurukulas and government schools, as the Minister intervened, the BRS legislator asking him to not to politicise the issue of Gurukulas, Kamalakar wondered if the Minister has knowledge about the Assembly and Parliamentary proceedings.

Despite objections raised by the Minister over ‘personal attack’, the BRS MLA continued to hit a raw nerve of the former Karimnagar MP. The BRS legislator now representing Karimnagar not only referred to the issue of ‘pepper spray’, but also issues from the past. The Minister confronting the legislator challenged him for a debate on usage of ‘pepper spray’ on him, by fellow Parliamentarian and if it was the original or fake.

The issue snowballed into a heated argument and the Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu intervened. He urged Kamalakar to not to make personal attacks and stick to the subject of discussion. He also seconded the request made by Ponnam to Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar to expunge any ‘unparliamentary’ language from the records.