Telangana Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar dismissed disqualification petitions against 7 BRS MLAs, including Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, citing a lack of evidence of their defection to Congress. BRS plans a Supreme Court appeal for the decision.
Congress spokesperson Sama Ram Mohan Reddy on Friday welcomed Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar’s decision not to disqualify two BRS MLAs under the Anti-Defection law. “The Speaker ruled that there was no evidence to prove that the two legislators had defected to the ruling Congress party, holding that the anti-defection law under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution was not applicable. With this decision, both MLAs will technically continue as members of the BRS,” said Reddy.
This comes after Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar on Thursday cleared two Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) legislators in a disqualification case, stating that no concrete proof was found to suggest they had switched over to the Congress party. Notably, Banswada MLA Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Chevella MLA Kale Yadaiah were not disqualified by the Speaker, citing a lack of evidence of defection to Congress.
Seven MLAs Cleared, Three Cases Pending
The Congress spokesperson further added, “Telangana assembly speaker Gaddam Prasad has dismissed 2 more disqualification petitions against BRS MLAs because the BRS party is collecting maintenance fees from thier parties, which shows how they are affiliated.”
This follows earlier decisions clearing five other BRS MLAs, with only three cases (Danam Nagender, Kadiam Srihari, M Sanjay Kumar) pending against BRS MLAs accused of switching to Congress after the 2023 elections.
Telangana Assembly Speaker cleared 6 BRS MLAs: Arekapudi Gandhi, Bandla Krishnamohan Reddy, Gudem Mahipal Reddy, Kale Yadaiah, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and T Prakash Goud. They’ll remain BRS members. Three cases pending are of Danam Nagender, Kadiam Srihari and M Sanjay Kumar.
The Speaker’s decision has cleared 7 BRS MLAs so far, with 3 cases pending against Danam Nagender, Kadiam Srihari, and M Sanjay Kumar.
BRS to Appeal, Supreme Court Issues Deadline
BRS has questioned the decision and plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. The BRS had previously approached the Supreme Court, alleging delays by the Speaker in acting on the disqualification petitions.
The Supreme Court had set a series of deadlines for the Speaker to decide the cases. On Friday, the Supreme Court, acknowledging that decisions had been rendered in 7 cases, gave the Speaker a final 2-week deadline to decide the remaining 3 petitions. The Court warned that failure to comply could result in further contempt proceedings. (ANI)
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