TDP MLA from Kodepi SC reserved constituency in Prakasam district, Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy, protested in the AP Assembly on Thursday alleging that he was insulted by the ruling party members.
The MLA alleged that Minister for Social Welfare, Dr Meruga Nagarjuna, had insulted him by caste name and demanded action against the minister. He also issued a privilege notice to Speaker Thammineni Sitaram against the Minister.
However, Minister Nagarjuna said that he did not make any derogatory remarks against the MLA. However, he said that he had only asked the TDP MLA to quit the party if he was born into a Dalit family, as Chandrababu Naidu had made defamatory remarks against the Dalits during the TDP government.
The Minister further said that the TDP MLA had tried to provoke him when he was speaking on Study Circle issues during the Question Hour. The minister also claimed that he was only replying to the members on the subject and did not make any defamatory remark against the MLA.
But, the TDP MLA said that the Minister had insulted him in the House and wanted the speaker to take action against him. He also wanted chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy to save a Dalit MLA from the Opposition party in the House.
The TDP MLA also accused the ruling YSR Congress government of abusing and insulting the Dalits and the insult to him in the Assembly was a clear indication to the anti-Dalit attitude of the government.
The MLA even threw an open challenge to the Minister to quit if the insult was not proved or else he would quit his Assembly seat. He asked the Speaker to verify the records and play the video clip to prove his charge.
The speaker told the agitated member that he would look into the records and take action accordingly.