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Speaker rejects plea to disqualify 5 BRS MLAs
Telangana Assembly Speaker dismissed BRS petitions to disqualify five defected MLAs, citing lack of evidence. Legal battles anticipated from BRS.
Telangana assembly speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar on Wednesday dismissed the petitions filed by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi seeking disqualification of five of the 10 MLAs who defected to the ruling Congress last year.
The speaker read out his order on the disqualification petitions filed against five legislators — Tellam Venkata Rao from Bhadrachalam, Bandla Krishnamohan Reddy from Gadwal, Gudem Mahipal Reddy from Patancheru, T Prakash Goud from Rajendranagar, and Arekapudi Gandhi from Serilingampally assembly constituencies.
In his order, the Speaker stated that the petitioners had failed to produce credible evidence to establish that the five MLAs had formally defected from the BRS to the Congress.
He observed that there were no legally sustainable grounds to attract disqualification under the anti-defection law and clarified that, from a technical and constitutional standpoint, the five legislators continue to remain members of the BRS.
The speaker’s office said out of disqualification petitions against 10 MLAs, Kumar had completed hearings in eight cases so far. The speaker delivered orders on five cases on Wednesday and the verdict on the remaining three MLAs – Pocharam Srinivas Reddy from Banswada, Kale Yadaiah from Chevella and M Sanjay Kumar from Jagitial would be delivered on Thursday.
The hearings in the disqualification petitions filed against Danam Nagender and Kadiyam Srihari are yet to be completed, as they did not respond to the notices given by the speaker.
The judgements were pronounced following a direction from Supreme Court on November 17, setting a deadline of four weeks to complete the process on the disqualification petitions filed by the BRS against the MLAs, who allegedly defected to the BRS. The apex court is scheduled to hear the matter again on the 19th of this month.
Earlier, the Supreme Court on July 31 set a deadline of three months for the speaker to decide on the disqualification petitions. As the deadline ended by October 31, the speaker sought more time to decide on the matter. The BRS filed a contempt petition in the first week of November and during the hearing on November 17, the Supreme Court expressed anger over the delay in deciding on the petitions and asked the speaker to take a decision within four weeks.
Reacting to the speaker’s order, Gadwal MLA Krishnamohan Reddy said the judgement had endorsed his argument that he had not defected to the Congress and was still a BRS MLA.
“I produced all the documentary evidence and other relevant material to prove that I still continue in the BRS. The speaker has now clearly declared that I am a BRS member and have not defected to the Congress,” he said, adding that he was ready to fight the legal battle, if necessary, to defend his right.
BRS legislator K P Vivekanand Goud, who was one of the petitioners, said there was no clarity in the speaker’s judgement. “As per the norms, we have to be provided with a full judgement copy of the speaker. We were given just a small note, which says the 10 MLAs against whom we filed the petitions would continue as the Telangana assembly MLAs,” he told reporters.
Goud said his party would move the state high court challenging the speaker’s order. “The defected MLAs had campaigned for the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections last year. Yet, the speaker did not take our argument into consideration for disqualification. We shall fight a legal battle against the speaker’s verdict,” he asserted.
