Despite relief from court, Roja denied entry to Andhra Assembly

The ruling Telugu Desam Party on Friday prevented the entry of YSR Congress MLA RK Roja to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, even as the aggrieved member obtained an interim order from the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad against her suspension from the House.

The YSRC first staged a sit-in protest on the Assembly premises, and then, drove to the Raj Bhavan to submit a petition to the Governor against Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao for violating the court order.

The Legislative Affairs Department, meanwhile, filed a petition before the Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad against the single judge’s interim order.

In the House, the Speaker announced that he has received an order of the High Court on Roja’s suspension issue.

“It was the House that unanimously decided to place the member under suspension for a year. Now that the High Court has issued an order on the matter, I am placing it before the House. It is for the House to discuss and take a decision on the issue,” he said.

He got the court order copies circulated among all members “to study and discuss the issue on Monday”.

Meanwhile, members of the YSRC boycotted the Assembly proceedings on Friday in protest against the denial of entry to Roja.

Roja, a YSRC MLA from Nagari in Chittoor district, was suspended from the Assembly for a year, during the Winter Session in December last, for using unparliamentary and abusive language against certain members of the TDP, including Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.