Congress, BRS MLAs engage in war of words in Telangana Assembly

Hyderabad: The ruling Congress and opposition BRS MLAs were engaged in a war of words in the Telangana Legislative Assembly on Wednesday over certain remarks of BRS Working President K T Rama Rao.

Speaking during a debate on the voting on Demands for Grants for 2025-26 fiscal, Rama Rao took exception to ministers intervening often when his party colleague Palla Rajeshwar Reddy was speaking.

He said the essence of democracy is Opposition will have its say and the government will have its way. The treasury benches should observe restraint, he said.

Besides certain other remarks, he said some (contractors) held a dharna in the Secretariat itself over pending bills.

Taking strong objection to Rama Rao's comments, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka asked whether the remarks made by the former, who talked about essence of democracy, should be realistic or not.

"Are you not misguiding the House? Not only the House, but you are also misguiding the entire state," he said.

Hitting out at Rama Rao for his comments, Vikramarka challenged him to prove his comments or apologise to the House and people.

The previous BRS regime put enormous debt burden on the government, he said.

Congress member Revuri Prakash Reddy, who was in the chair, said Rama Rao's comments in question would be expunged from the records.

Unlike BRS members, his functioning has been responsible, Vikramarka said.

The BRS members should be mindful of their language, he said, demanding apology from Rama Rao.

The Congress members raised slogans seeking apology from Rama Rao.

The BRS members later held a protest at the Assembly steps raising slogans against the Congress government, a BRS release said. The BRS MLAs raised slogans charging that the government is a "per centage (commission) government", it said.