Telangana HC asks Speaker to decide on disqualification of defectors in 4 weeks

Hyderabad, Sep 9 (IANS) The Telangana High Court on Monday directed the office of the Assembly Speaker to decide within four weeks on the petition of the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi to disqualify the MLAs who defected to the ruling Congress party.

Pronouncing the orders on the petitions by BRS and BJP leaders seeking disqualification of the defectors, the High Court stated that if the Speaker fails to take a decision within four weeks, it would take up the matter suo moto for hearing.

BRS leaders P. Kaushik Reddy and Vivekananda Goud had filed petitions seeking the disqualification of MLAs Danam Nagender, Kadiam Srihari, and T. Venkat Rao for defection. BJP MLA Maheshwar Reddy had also filed a petition, seeking the disqualification of Nagender.

The counsels for the petitioners argued that Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar was not following the Supreme Court orders on the issue of disqualification

The BRS had last month intensified its legal efforts to get 10 MLAs disqualified for defecting to the Congress party.

BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao along with T. Harish Rao and other senior leaders had met legal experts in Delhi as part of the party’s efforts to get turncoat MLAs disqualified.

The legal experts told the BRS delegation that the Supreme Court has already delivered clear judgments in various cases, including the Manipur case relating to defections. He opined that unlike in the past, the Speaker can’t keep a decision pending on disqualification of the defected MLAs.

Rama Rao had said the party would continue its legal battle in the light of the Supreme Court orders in similar cases and as per the advice given by the legal and Constitutional experts in view. He said the party would soon approach the Supreme Court.

He had exuded confidence that the issue of disqualification would be decided in a month either through the High Court or Supreme Court judgement.

As many as 10 MLAs of BRS have defected to the Congress party since March this year.