Hyderabad: On Saturday, March 28, the main Opposition in Telangana, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), staged a walkout twice on the same day during the demand for grants discussions in the ongoing Budget Session of the Assembly.
BRS legislators first walked out during the demand for grants discussion on the budget for Backward Classes (BC) welfare, and then during discussions on panchayat raj and rural development.
They then moved into the Well of the House demanding the formation of a House committee to look into the alleged illegal mining by Raghava Constructions, which is allegedly owned by Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy’s son Harsha Reddy.
The behaviour of BRS MLAs was strongly condemned by Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu, who said that the pink party had only neglected the BCs during their 10-year rule, and now that the Congress was taking progressive steps for the community and the Opposition was unable to digest this.
He said that if the BRS leaders truly cared about the BCs, they would have shown by offering constructive suggestions instead of creating obstructions.
“And then, if the Opposition really chose to walk out, they should do so with conviction. Walking out intermittently, then re-entering the House only goes to show their political opportunism,” Babu said.
Past walkouts
Telangana’s 2026 Budget Session saw multiple walkouts from the BRS, with the first one being a flowery one. On March 20, when Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka was giving the budget speech, BRS leaders tore down the copies of the budget books, rolled the pages and placed them like flowers in their ears before walking out to protest the Congress government’s “unfulfilled promises.”
They also yelled “fraud fraud” during the budget speech, while referring to the promise of providing one tola of gold, creation of 2 lakh jobs and other assurances by the ruling party.
The MLAs, led by Deputy Floor Leader T Harish Rao, walked out again on March 23 after the Finance Minister did not answer the former’s question regarding pending bills and pension benefits.
They did the same the next day, but this time just before Bhatti rose to discuss the state’s budget. Harish Rao raised several objections, accusing the Congress government of not running the House orderly, delaying House proceedings for hours and not furnishing the budget books on time, before walking out.
On March 26, Harish Rao expressed dissatisfaction over Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao not replying to his question on how many loans of farmers above Rs 2 lakh were waived and then walked out again.
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