Eighth dissident BRS MLA cleared of defection charge

Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar has dismissed the petition filed by the BRS for the disqualification of Jagtial MLA M Sanjay Kumar. The Speaker has, to date, rejected the disqualification petitions against eight of the ten MLAs accused of jumping ship.

Sanjay Kumar said every month, Rs 5,000 is deducted from his salary as his contribution to the BRS party fund, citing as evidence that he was still with the regional party. BRS working president KT Rama Rao, however, accused the Speaker of acting on the orders of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and tagged it as a murder of democracy.

Advertisement

As Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar disposed of another petition, ruling that Jagtial MLA Sanjay Kumar was still in the BRS party, working president KT Rama lashed out, pointing to the evidence to the contrary. “Even as photos and videos of the chief minister himself draping a shawl over Jagtial BRS MLA Sanjay and inducting him into Congress are right before our eyes, rejecting the disqualification petition on the grounds of no evidence is utterly meaningless,” he said.

Rao further said, “Ignoring both the Supreme Court’s verdict on one side and the people’s verdict on the other and failing to take constitutionally mandated action against defecting MLAs and instead acting on the chief minister’s orders – is nothing short of murdering democracy.”

He also referred to the bitter rivalry within the ruling party in Jagtial, where veteran Congressman Jeevan Reddy was vehemently opposing Sanjay Kumar in party meetings and events. Rao said the Speaker’s decision came at a time when Jeevan Reddy was being humiliated by his own party in municipal elections. “Even as ten BRS MLAs defected in broad daylight, the fact that not a single action has been taken against any of them and the chief minister continues to run the show, this grotesque political game will inevitably face a harsh lesson from the public,” said Rao.

However, the Jagtial MLA said he had met Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to ensure the development of the constituency, and he was still in BRS. He reminded that in the past BRS regime, T Srinivas Yadav was inducted in the state Cabinet, though he was a TDP MLA. Meanwhile, the ticket allocation for municipal polls has triggered a fresh rift within the party between Jeevan Reddy and Sanjay Kumar, as the latter’s faction secured more candidates. The Speaker will take up the hearing on disqualification petitions against two more MLAs – Danam Nagender and Kadiyam Srihari on February 18 and 19, respectively.