Political feuds must not diminish House, says Telangana Dy CM
Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has sought to shift the focus of a growing political controversy from the Congress-BRS confrontation to a larger question: the dignity and institutional authority of the Telangana Legislative Assembly.
Bhatti’s public show of solidarity with Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar, alongside Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, followed controversial remarks allegedly made by BRS leaders during protests around the Assembly. Congress leaders condemned the alleged comments, while the BRS disputed the Government’s version of events and accused the ruling party of targeting the opposition.
The subsequent police action against BRS leaders has further intensified the political dispute. Amid the familiar cycle of accusations and counter-accusations, Bhatti has sought to place the Speaker’s office at the centre of the debate. His message is that while an opposition has every right to challenge the Government, political rivalry should not cross the line into conduct that diminishes legislative institutions. The argument carries significance beyond party politics. The Assembly is the forum where Governments are held accountable, legislation is debated, and the mandate of voters is translated into policy.
The Speaker, irrespective of political affiliations, occupies a constitutional position intended to facilitate that democratic process.
At the same time, defending institutional dignity cannot mean shielding the Government or the Speaker from legitimate criticism. The BRS’s allegations regarding restrictions on protest and the treatment of its legislators also warrant scrutiny.
The challenge, therefore, is to uphold both principles: the opposition’s right to dissent and protest, and the need to preserve the dignity of parliamentary institutions.
Bhatti’s intervention is politically significant because it attempts to draw that distinction from the Government’s side. Congress and BRS will continue to clash, as they should in a functioning democracy. But there is a fundamental difference between challenging a Government and undermining an institution.
Political power is temporary. Institutions must endure. And the Assembly should never become a casualty of the politics conducted within it.
