Hyderabad: Telangana Legislative Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar has served disqualification notices to ten BRS MLAs after the Supreme Court ordered swift action in pending anti-defection petitions.
The petitions alleged that the lawmakers, elected on BRS tickets, defected to the Congress party. The Supreme Court on July 25 directed the Speaker to resolve the matter within three months, prompting Kumar to act after taking legal advice.
The ten BRS MLAs served with notices are Kadiam Srihari, D. Nagender, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Sanjay Kumar, Tellam Venkatrao, Arekapudi Gandhi, Kale Yadaiah, Prakash Goud, Krishna Mohan Reddy, and Mahipal Reddy.
BRS demanded that these legislators be declared ineligible under the Tenth Schedule, accusing them of betraying the party’s mandate. A few of the legislators, however, have maintained that they never officially joined Congress.
Speaker Kumar will now examine their replies before giving his final verdict. The ruling is expected to affect the composition of the Assembly and could shift the balance of power between the two major parties in the state.
