Telangana: Two more BRS MLAs given clean chit by Speaker

Telangana Speaker Gaddam Kumar Prasad has dismissed the disqualification petitions against two more MLAs who won on BRS tickets but were accused of joining the Congress. The Speaker dismissed the petitions filed against Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Kale Yadaiah on the ground that there was no evidence that they had quit the BRS.

Ten BRS MLAs faced disqualification petitions, but to date, seven of them have been granted a clean chit by the Assembly Speaker.

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The Speaker ruled that the anti-defection law was not applicable in the case of the two BRS MLAs since they had not quit the Opposition party. In an earlier ruling, he had dismissed the petitions filed against five MLAs, including Tellam Venkat Rao, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, T Prakash Goud, Gudem Mahipal Reddy and Arekapudi Gandhi. He has also completed the hearing against Sanjay Kumar but has reserved his order.

The disqualification petitions against two more MLAs—Kadiam Srihari and Danam Nagender—were still pending. Kadiam Srihari, the MLA from Ghanpur, had submitted his response in writing to the notice to the Speaker, where he denied quitting the BRS and joining the Congress.

However, Danam Nagender, the MLA from Khairatabad, who had contested as a Congress candidate in the Lok Sabha elections, has been openly saying that he was in the ruling party. However, the petition against him, one of the earliest filed by the BRS, is yet to be taken up. Meanwhile, the BRS has already filed a contempt notice against the Speaker in the Supreme Court for not complying with its directive regarding the disqualification petitions.

BRS slammed the Speaker and Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, claiming that constitutional values have been violated once again. BRS working president KT Rama Rao said, “It has once again become clear that the Congress party has no respect: not only for the Constitution but even for the highest courts. Today’s verdict makes it clear that the ruling party is afraid to go for byelections in the constituencies of defected MLAs, as the people have given the Congress a hard time in the Panchayat elections.”

The BRS leader further said that the public was well aware of the truth. “No matter how many times the Congress party has tried unsuccessfully to save the MLAs who jumped the wall, it is of no use. The fact that they all became ‘ex’ in the public court is a testament to the stupidity of the Congress party,” said Rao.