Hyderabad: The state Assembly experienced chaos on Friday due to offensive remarks made by Danam Nagender against opposition BRS members during a discussion about the development of Hyderabad.
The Assembly was discussing ‘Activities for sustainable Urban Development in Hyderabad Metro City’. Danam Nagender, who switched from BRS to Congress, was speaking when some BRS members, including P Kaushik Reddy, demanded time to talk about a new law replacing Dharani. Nagender told the BRS members to stop their protest, using derogatory language. He said, “Em anukuntunnaru ra meeru, okakoniki, cheputunna, em arey baita kuda tiruganiyan cheputunna nenu,” along with some cuss words. He later defended his language, claiming it was part of the Telangana dialect.
The opposition members were upset that the Speaker did not stop Nagender or reprimand him for his behavior, which they felt was inappropriate for the House’s decorum. The Speaker only made hand gestures asking Nagender to calm down.
Instead of addressing the issue or apologizing for Nagender’s remarks, ruling party members argued that opposition members should not interrupt or disturb the speaker. Minister Ponnam Nagender cited a rule stating that while one member is speaking, others should not make gestures or threaten fellow members.
Speaker G Prasad said he would review the records and make a decision. He noted that Nagender was speaking with the chair’s permission and criticized members for not staying in their seats and frequently approaching the podium, which he deemed improper.
MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi demanded an apology from Nagender, stating that his language was highly inappropriate. Owaisi pointed out that Nagender used offensive words about mothers and threatened others, which is unacceptable. Despite expressing regret, Nagender repeated the word “Niyamma,” claiming it was a common term in Hyderabad and not unparliamentary, which drew further criticism from the opposition.
