Roja's suspension: Speaker's decision questioned

Leader of the Opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the Speaker does not have the right to suspend an MLA during the assembly session. Speaking in the Assembly during the debate on the Call Money scam, he said the speaker can suspend an MLA only for the duration of the session.

He said to suspend an MLA for a longer period, the issue has to be referred to the Privileges Committee and the MLA should be given an opportunity to present his or her case. He said suspended MLA Roja was not given an opportunity to explain her position.
Speaking on the Call Money scam, YS Jagan said the government was trying to save the TDP men involved in the scam. He said the roots of the call money scam lie in the TDP government's failure to waive DWCRA loans. Unable to get credit facility, the women were forced to approach private lenders. He said the Call Money scam accused Venigalla Srikanth and MLA Bode prasad went on a foreign tour together. While the MLA returned, the accused has not returned. What more, the police did not even question the MLA, YS Yagan said.