TS House adjourned over 'defections'

Hyderabad, Nov 17: The row over 'defections' rocked the Telangana legislative assembly on Monday as main the opposition Congress legislators stalled the proceedings during the Question Hour, resulting in two adjournments. Congress legislators, sporting black badges, were on their feet as soon as the Telangana Assembly was convened for the day's proceedings at 10 am. They demanded that their adjournment motion on 'Chief Minister encouraging defections" be taken up for discussion immediately. The adjournment motion came at a time when several Congress and Telugu Desam Party legislators defected to Telangana Rashtra Samiti in the last few days. The Congress leaders insisted that the issue be discussed in the House and the Speaker disqualify the defectors. Congress leader Jana Reddy spit fire on the TRS for encouraging defections even as the Assembly was in session. Intervening in the issue at this juncture, Legislative Affairs Minister T Harish Rao reminded the protesting members that the adjournments motions could be taken up only at the end of the Question Hour as agreed in the Business Advisory Committee meeting. Later, Information Technology Minister K T Rama Rao then mocked at the protesting legislators, and said it was the Congress that initiated the defections. Rao said everybody knows how the Congress earlier made 10 out of 26 TRS MLAs to defect to its side when it was in power between 2004 and 2009. The minister then went on to say that was the Congress now trying to preach sermons. As the Congress MLAs stayed put in the Well of the House raising slogans, Speaker S Madhusudana Chari adjourned the proceedings for 10 minutes. When order was not restored after the House resumed, it led to the second adjournment for 30 minutes. The speaker then adjourned the House till Tuesday.