Hyderabad: The Telangana legislative assembly Ethics committee will take up a case against BRS MLA from Huzurabad Padi Kaushik Reddy on August 29. There were allegations against Kaushik Reddy that he behaved inappropriately against another MLA Kadiyam Srihari on the floor of the assembly in March this year when there was a heated debate on mining irregularities.The committee is headed by Congress MLA Revuri Prakash Reddy and BRS MLAs Vemula Prashant Reddy, T Padma Rao, BJP MLA Paidi Rakesh Reddy and CPI MLA Sambasiva Rao are members. During the debate on mining issues, while Srihari spoke against the BRS govt regime. Padi Kaushik Reddy interrupted him and said “Which party are you in?” Srihair alleged that Kaushik Reddy behaved inappropriately, making threatening gestures like pretending to shoot a gun at Srihari. Assembly speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar referred Kaushik Reddy’s conduct to the Committee on Ethics for further action.Condemning the Ethics committee taking up the issue, Balkonda MLA Vemula Prashanth Reddy alleged that the Congress govt was resorting to political vendetta through ethics committees and inquiry committees to silence BRS legislators who question the govt on public issues.Speaking at a media conference held at Telangana Bhavan on Wednesday along with MLAs Muttha Gopal, Padi Kaushik Reddy, K. Sanjay and Anil Jadhav, and others Prashant Reddy said that he had received a notice from the assembly secretariat stating that an Ethics Committee meeting had been scheduled for August 29 to discuss the conduct of BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy and recommend action against him.However, Vemula pointed out that at the time the issue concerning Kaushik Reddy was referred to the Ethics Committee in the Assembly, the committee itself was not in existence. He questioned how a matter could be referred to a committee that did not exist, saying this clearly indicated that the govt had adopted a pre-planned and vindictive strategy against Kaushik Reddy.Explaining the facts surrounding the incident in the assembly, the ex-minister said that while Kadiyam Srihari was criticising the policies of the previous govt, Kaushik Reddy had questioned him, saying, “You too served as a minister in the same govt earlier. Which party do you belong to now?” Vemula alleged that the govt had brought in the Ethics Committee episode only because it feared that its legislators who had defected from other parties would be exposed and questioned.Vemula questioned whether the rules of the Ethics Committee applied only to opposition members and whether the same standards did not apply to the CM, ministers and Congress MLAs who had allegedly behaved inappropriately in the assembly.He said MLA Danam Nagender allegedly behaved aggressively in the assembly, used abusive language against BRS members and threatened them by saying, “I will strip your skin” and “I will not allow you to move around outside.”MLA Samuel allegedly made threatening remarks in the assembly, saying, “If ten swords are raised, heads will be severed; we will play a game of swords,” thereby allegedly making statements that posed a threat to the lives of fellow members.MLA Shankar and minister Ponnam Prabhakar were seen by the people of the state allegedly making obscene gestures and engaging in inappropriate behaviour in the assembly.Vemula questioned why the Ethics Committee had not taken action against Congress representatives who allegedly threatened fellow legislators with murder inside the assembly and asked where the committee’s eyes were at that time.The BRS MLA alleged that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, who is expected to conduct himself with dignity as the Leader of the House, had himself used language resembling that of a street thug in the assembly. He recalled the CM’s alleged remarks such as, “We will make you lie face down and beat you,” and “We have physically strong people with us.”He referred to the Chief Minister allegedly using the derogatory term “badva” against elected representatives in the assembly and some even made remarks against ex-minister Sabitha Indra Reddy, including that “if you listen to her words, you will have to beg at Jubilee Bus Stand,” were an insult to women. He questioned why the Ethics Committee remained silent over the manner in which Danam Nagender and other Congress members allegedly threatened opposition legislators.Prashant Reddy alleged that bringing the Ethics Committee into action in haste against BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy, who was allegedly not even given a microphone and had merely raised a question regarding party identity, was a political conspiracy. He asked Revanth Reddy to explain under which Constitution and ethical framework he had the right to speak about morality after allegedly inviting ten MLAs elected on BRS B-Forms to his residence and putting Congress scarves around them.ends/