BRS Members Suspended from Telangana Assembly Over Mining Allegations

In Hyderabad, members of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) were suspended from the Telangana Assembly for two days on March 29 after staging protests demanding an investigation into allegations of illegal mining against Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy. The opposition lawmakers accused the minister's family-owned company, Raghava Constructions, of involvement in unauthorized mining activities, leading to chaotic scenes in the legislative chamber as they refused to end their demonstration.

The unrest began as the Assembly convened, with BRS members gathering near the podium and raising slogans calling for a House Committee to probe the claims. They presented evidence of notices issued to the company for violations and alleged significant revenue losses to the state. BRS Working President KT Rama Rao, addressing the House earlier, linked the minister, his wife, son, and brother to the firm, noting that Srinivas Reddy had served as its chairman from 2020 to 2022. Rama Rao questioned the state government's inaction despite legal provisions that could result in up to one year of imprisonment for repeated offenses and accused Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of defending the...