Telangana’s Minister for Transport and Backwards Classes Welfare, Ponnam Prabhakar, has called on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to remove the offensive comments made by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya regarding Telangana’s formation from official records. Prabhakar emphasized the need for strict measures, including the cancellation of Surya’s membership, in response to his remarks during a debate on women’s reservation bills.
Prabhakar expressed strong objection to Surya’s comparison of Telangana’s creation with the partition of India and formation of Pakistan. He highlighted that such an analogy is not only factually incorrect but also insensitive and inappropriate within the parliamentary setting. The minister underscored that Telangana’s establishment resulted from a democratic process reflecting the genuine aspirations of its people, and equating it with a violent historical event undermines the sanctity of that process.
The minister further cautioned that drawing such parallels is unnecessary and could potentially fuel regional discord, distort historical and constitutional truths, and weaken the foundation of unity and cooperative federalism in democracy. Prabhakar urged the Speaker to expunge the remarks and demanded an unconditional apology from Surya to the Lok Sabha and the people of Telangana, along with suitable disciplinary action, including possible disqualification from the Lok Sabha.
