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6 ex-YSRCP MLCs meet legislative council chairman
Six Andhra Pradesh MLCs met with the council chairman to explain their resignations from YSR Congress; one MLC withdrew her resignation during the meeting.
Six members of the Andhra Pradesh state legislative council, who resigned from the YSR Congress party and their MLC seats last year, met council chairman Koye Moshen Raju on Monday and provided formal explanations regarding their resignations.
While five of these MLCs – Karri Padmashree, Balli Kalyana Chakravarthy, Marri Rajasekhar, Jayamangala Venkat Ramana and Pothula Sunitha – insisted that their resignations be accepted, sixth MLC Zakia Khanam withdrew her resignation from the council membership shortly after meeting the chairman.
Following a direction from the state high court on November 28 to decide on the resignation of these MLCs, the council chairman called them for a personal hearing on Monday.
People familiar with the matter said the chairman sought repeated clarification from the MLCs on whether they had resigned from their membership under any influence or inducement. “He questioned whether we resigned voluntarily, whether anyone had encouraged us to do so, or whether external pressure played any role,” one of the MLCs Marri Rajasekhar said.
The MLCs explained to Raju that they had resigned from the party and the MLC seats on their own and that their decision was entirely voluntary. “The chairman asked the same question repeatedly and we told them that the Constitution grants us the right to resign from our posts,” Rajasekhar said.
The chairman also asked whether they had considered withdrawing their resignations, noting that only a short period remained in their terms and suggesting that they could continue in office. The MLCs rejected the suggestion, insisting that their stance had not changed.
Soon after the interaction, Zakia Khanam reversed her decision and formally informed the chairman that she wished to withdraw her resignation. She, however, did not disclose the reasons behind her decision.
Zakia Khanam, who was nominated to the legislative council in 2020, resigned from the YSRCP and the MLC seat in May this year. She later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Karri Padmasri, Kalyana Chakravarthi and Marri Rajasekhar join the Telugu Desam Party, while Pothula Sunitha joined the BJP and Jayamangala Venkata Ramana joined the Jana Sena Party.
Speaking to reporters later, MLCs Karri Padmashree, Kalyana Chakravarthy, and Pothula Sunitha said they had resigned in August 2024 and that more than 15 months had passed since then, but no action was taken on their resignations.
Venkat Ramana said his resignation was submitted in November last year and that more than a year had passed. “I wonder why the chairman was probing whether my resignation was voluntary. Though it was embarrassing, I answered his queries patiently out of respect for the office,” he said.
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