Andhra Pradesh speaker Dr Kodela Sivaprasada Rao is  for automatic suspension of the members who troup into the well of the house and derail the proceedings.He made this suggestion to the conference of presiding officers of India  held at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Taking part in the conference of presiding officers and secretaries of legislative bodies  Speaker Rao suggested that  some stringent steps need to be taken for smooth and meaningful functioning of legislative bodies.

“Every legislature should constitute Ethics Committee for the imposition of penalties on members found to be guilty of unethical behaviour or other misconduct or for having contravened code or rules and for effective ethical behaviour of the members,” the Speaker, who was the guest of honor at the conference, suggested.

“The legislature, being a body of representatives elected by the people, should play an effective role in ensuring wider participation of the people in governance. But, there is no denying the fact that now-a-days legislative institutions have at times failed in executing the responsibilities entrusted to them by the Constitution,” Rao said.

Speaker’s suggestion for automatic suspension assumes significance in the backdrop of a raging controversy over the suspension of Oppositoin MLA Roja. YSR Congress MLA Roja had been suspended from Andhra Pradesh State Assembly for one year following certain remarks she used against a fellow MLA from the treasury benches. Suspension of a member for one year has been questioned by the Opposition party, which says the speaker transgressed his power and the suspension was illegal and anti-constitutional.

According to Rao, there has been a distinct lack of discipline and decorum in the legislatures as evident both at the national and the State levels.

“Fighting and noisy scenes in many Legislatures have caused tension and strain to presiding officers,” he stated.