The opposition parties in Telangana on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court judgement setting a deadline of three months to state assembly speaker G Prasad Kumar to decide on the disqualification of 10 defected Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLAs into the Congress in 2024 and demanded the speaker to take an immediate decision in this regard.
The speaker, meanwhile, told reporters that he would take a decision only after studying the Supreme Court judgement in detail. “I have already issued notices to the said MLAs (who defected to the Congress) seeking their explanation,” he said.
BRS working president KT Rama Rao, in a statement, said the speaker should respect the Supreme Court judgement and promptly disqualify the defected MLAs. He said Rahul Gandhi, who often speaks about constitutional values, must adhere to his own words regarding defections, should ask the defected MLAs to resign on moral grounds.
“There is no need for further inquiry. The speaker should immediately disqualify the MLAs, paving the way for by-elections in 10 constituencies. The BRS cadre is ready to fight and win these elections. Ultimately, truth and righteousness have prevailed,” KTR stated.
KTR criticised the Congress for encouraging “unethical and anti-constitutional politics of defections,” using the speaker’s position, stating that the Supreme Court’s verdict was a “slap in the face” to such practices.
{{/usCountry}}KTR criticised the Congress for encouraging “unethical and anti-constitutional politics of defections,” using the speaker’s position, stating that the Supreme Court’s verdict was a “slap in the face” to such practices.
{{/usCountry}}BRS lawmaker K P Vivekananda, who was one of the petitioners who moved the Supreme Court questioning the defections, said though the speaker has been given three months’ time to take a decision, he should not wait till then. “He should disqualify the defectors immediately to uphold the democracy,” Vivekananda said.
Another petitioner and BJP floor leader in the assembly Aleti Maheshwar Reddy said the speaker should implement the Supreme Court judgement in letter and spirit and should not dodge on disqualification on technical grounds. “It is not good in the spirit of democracy that the MLAs elected on one party would defect to another party and get away on technical grounds. The Supreme Court judgement is an eye-opener to all the defectors,” he said.
Telangana BJP president N Ramachandra Rao also welcomed the Supreme Court’s directive that the speaker must decide on disqualification petitions within three months. “It is a positive development. The BRS has no right to talk about defections, as it, too, had engineered defection of MLAs in the past,” Rao said.
Government whip Aadi Srinivas said the Congress would respect the Supreme Court judgement. “The apex court has refused to disqualify the MLAs who switched over to the Congress but left the decision to the assembly speaker. Ultimately, the speaker will take a decision,” he said.
He said the BRS, which ruled the state for nearly 10 years, undermined democracy by luring MLAs, MPs, ZPTC and MPTC members into its fold. “Now they are dreaming that the government will fall if they file disqualification petitions against MLAs who left due to disillusionment with the party’s policies. Even though the authority to decide disqualification lies with the speaker, BRS leaders are making a big fuss,” Srinivas said.
Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson and MP Ch Kiran Kumar Reddy said the speaker would take a decision on the disqualification of the MLAs. “Even if there are by-elections to 10 assembly seats, the Congress can win them hands down,” he asserted.