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Congress members were suspended from the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Thursday for obstructing proceedings and demanding a judicial probe into a multi-billion rupee liquor purchase scandal.
Speaker K Pratibha Bharathi announced their suspension for the day after the House adopted a motion moved by Minister for Legislative Affairs Yanamala Ramakrishnudu around 10:30 hours IST.
Marshals were called in to remove the suspended members, including Leader of the Opposition and Congress floor leader Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy.
Earlier, the House witnessed uproarious scenes from the start of the day's proceedings at 08:30 hours IST. The Congress members stood up, displaying placards and shouting slogans against Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and demanding a judicial enquiry by a Supreme Court judge into the alleged defrauding of the exchequer to the tune of Rs 10 billion in the purchase of IMFL stocks by the state-owned AP Beverages Corporation Limited over four years.
The Congress members alleged that the chief minister, besides Excise Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao and officials, had received kickbacks of millions of rupees in the deal.
The Congress members created din, stalling Question Hour. Whenever the Speaker called the ministers to answer questions, Congress members booed them.
Transport Minister B V Mohan Reddy was called half a dozen times to reply to the first question, but Congress members shouted him down each time. At this stage, the Speaker adjourned the House for a 'tea break'.
Later, the Speaker met floor leaders at her chamber, but the stalemate continued with the ruling party insisting that the House could not take up the issue again since a closure motion was adopted on Wednesday.
The Congress members insisted that they be given an opportunity to clarify their stand since allegations were made against them that they were holding a brief for a liquor company owned by a former parliamentarian of their party.
When the House reassembled at 10:20 hours, the Congress members once again demanded an enquiry into the liquor purchase scam. As the din continued, the legislative affairs minister moved the motion for suspension of the Congress members. He read out the names of 75 members. Immediately, the Speaker put the motion to vote and read out the names of 60 members.
She called in the marshals to take out the suspended members.
After the suspended Congress members were escorted out, the Majlis-e-Ittehaadul Muslimeen, Communist Party of India-Marxist and Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist members protested against the ruling party using its "brute majority" in the House to get the members suspended without giving a chance to the leader of the Opposition to reply to the charge by the Telugu Desam Party that he was holding a brief for a liquor company.
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