Unruly scenes prevailed in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly when senior Congress legislator Gade Venkat Reddy was roughed up by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) member Vidyasagar Rao who was menacingly surging towards the treasury benches when the government whip Dronamraju Srinivas was speaking on the draft Telangana bill.
The unseemly incident created ruckus in the House and left everyone present in the House shocked.
"We will not be cowed down by the intimidating tactics of the TRS leaders. They must apologize for their rowdy behaviour," Gade Venkat Reddy said at the media point of the Assembly later.
Earlier, tempers ran high during the debate on the draft Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2013, when the Seemandhra representative Srinivas was making his presentation focusing on the problems of the Seemandhra people and the genuine concerns of security and safety of Seemandhra people living in Hyderabad.
At this stage, the TRS members rose to their feet and raised serious objections. An enraged Vidyasagar Rao rushed towards the treasury benches and appeared to physically stop the member from continuing his speech.
When Gade Venkat Reddy intervened and tried to stop him, the TRS member caught hold of his collar and tried to push him aside.Condemning the Telangana members' behaviour, the Legislative Affairs Minister S Sailajanath said that it was the responsibility of the Speaker to protect the rights of the members inside the House.
"There should be decency and dignity. If TRS members indulge in such despicable actions, we know how to counter them. They should first apologize for the unruly behaviour," Gade said.
Later, the TRS Floor Leader Eetela Rajender expressed regrets over the incident.
