The Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, Tammineni Sitaram, suspended 14 Telugu Desam Party (TDP) legislators for disrupting the presentation of Budget 2023 by Finance Minister Buganna Rajendranath on Thursday, March 16. Sitaram said that crores of people in Andhra were eager to listen to the session and requested opposition members to maintain decorum and allow the Minister to present the budget. On Wednesday, the Speaker suspended 12 TDP MLAs and one rebel MLA of the ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) for disrupting House proceedings.
The MLAs were suspended again on Thursday for disrupting the Assembly proceedings. TDP legislators raised slogans at the beginning of the Budget presentation speech by Buganna Rajendranath. The Speaker appealed to the MLAs to maintain decorum and raise their questions later. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy appealed to the Speaker and said, “I ask that you excuse (from the House) those protesting pointlessly, because they intend to disrupt the meeting and make it difficult for people to follow.” The Speaker acknowledged the CM's appeal stating that it was improper to disrupt budget meetings. Calling it serious misconduct, he ordered their suspension.
On Wednesday, 11 TDP MLAs were suspended as they interrupted YSRCP members' speeches and insisted on being allowed to speak, as the Assembly debated the Motion of Thanks to the Governor's address. Sridhar Reddy, a rebel YSRCP MLA, was also suspended, as he was protesting near the Speaker's podium.
The Budget session of the Assembly's budget will continue till March 24.