YSRCP to move contempt case

Hyderabad, March 18: Describing the developments in the Assembly denying entry to MLA RK Roja as a black day in parliamentary democracy, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that the arrogance of the TDP and Speaker has come to the fore by trying to exhibiting one-upmanship and we will give a contempt of court notice on Monday.

‘When the court has permitted our Roja to attend the Assembly, Speaker who has been conducting himself out and out like a TDP leader in connivance of the Chief Minister have displayed their arrogance by rejecting the judiciary and calling themselves supreme which is undemocratic and their decision of not honouring the court verdict will be challenged and a contempt of court petition will be filed on Monday,’ YS Jagan Mohan Reddy told media at Raj Bhavan here on Friday after submitting a memorandum apprising the Governor of the injustice.  

TDP has been misleading the House and the Speaker seems to be acting at the behest of the Chief Minister and had invoked Rule 304 (2) to suspend or MLA while the quoted rule only permits the House to suspend the member till the end of the ongoing session.

When we moved the court and then went to the apex court and on its orders the High Court has issued an interim order allowing Roja to attend the session while the Speaker and TDP government were adamant and in no position to relent and did not allow our MLA inside the premises even.

The Chief Marshall’s behavior was unruly and his conduct is questionable. We have given a copy of the court order to the Assembly Secretariat yesterday and Roja was stopped, purportedly at the behest of the TDP Government and on the orders of the Speaker.

When the officials failed to show the written order barring Roja from entering the assembly premises, we staged a dharna at two places in the Assembly before coming to Raj Bhavan to submit the memorandum. Since the Governor is not available, we gave the representation to the Officials, he said.

The assembly has become a picture of paradox. When the court gives ruling to allow an MLA to attend the proceedings, the government does allow her. When a no confidence motion was moved and a letter was given for suspending the defected MLAs the government takes it up in a hurry without giving the mandatory 14 days time denying us the time to issue a whip only to safeguard the defectors.

The Chief Minister and Speaker trying to impress that they are beyond courts only shows their arrogance and their defiance of judiciary would be taken up at the right forum and an agitation path would be worked out to highlight the injustice meted out to Roja, he said.

Speaking on not allowing her in to the assembly premises, Roja said: ‘people who do not respect constitution do not respect courts as the provisions of the law are made in the Parliament itself. Despite the court giving its verdict that the suspension under the quoted rule was not valid, they have denied me entry into the assembly.

In the assembly, there are ministers and legislators who themselves or their kin are involved in heinous incidents. The Whip has assaulted a woman officer and he continues to be in the House, Ravela Kishorbabu, whose son has chased a married women, is allowed to be in the house, Bode Prasad, Budda Venkanna who are involved in Call Money Sex Racket are allowed in the house along with another minister who son has killed some a bystander in a road rage case and a woman MLA had beaten a teacher with slipper still finds a place in the assembly while they have been hell-bent on not allowing me into the house.

I was in the Opposition earlier too, but no Chief Minister was as vindictive as the present one and I will not be cowed down by such cheap tactics,’ she said.