CM violated Assembly norms with remarks on sub-judice matter

Hyderabad: BRS MLA T Harish Rao on Wednesday expressed strong objection to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s remarks in the Assembly regarding the disqualification of defected MLAs.

Speaking to the media, Harish Rao stated that the Chief Minister’s comments were in complete violation of legislative norms and amounted to a breach of parliamentary procedures. He pointed out that as per the well-established rules outlined in the Kaul and Shakdher’s Practice and Procedure of Parliament, matters that are sub judice must not be discussed in legislative forums. “The issue of disqualification of MLAs is under judicial consideration in the Supreme Court. Yet, the Chief Minister chose to speak on the matter in the Assembly, effectively delivering his own judgment by declaring that the defected MLAs would not be disqualified and that there would be no by-elections,” said Harish Rao.

Harish Rao emphasised that such remarks are a direct encroachment upon the judiciary’s domain and fall under the purview of a breach of Assembly privilege. “When I tried to raise a Point of Order on this serious violation, my microphone was cut off midway,” he added. He also criticised the Congress government’s undemocratic functioning. “The Chief Minister says the Opposition can give suggestions, but when we seek the mike to do so, we are denied the opportunity. Those with fewer members are being given a chance to speak, while the main Opposition is being deliberately silenced,” he said.