After the Supreme Court given a deadline, the Telangana Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar has initiated steps to resolve the complaints filed by BRS seeking disqualification of 10 MLAs who joined the Congress after winning the assembly elections on their party ticket. He has reportedly issued notices to five MLAs to appear before the hearing and give an explanation in view of the BRS complaint.
The Speaker’s office is said to be preparing notices for the remaining five MLAs, and it is learnt that they will be issued to them soon. It is known that BRS had filed a complaint with the Speaker against MLAs Danam Nagender, Kadiyam Srihari, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Arikepudi Gandhi, Tellam Venkat Rao, Sanjay Kumar, Kale Yadaya, Prakash Goud, Krishnamohan Reddy and Mahipal Reddy.
However, the Supreme Court, which heard a petition filed alleging delay in taking a decision on the defected MLAs, ruled on July 25 that the Speaker should take a decision within three months. In this context, Speaker Prasad Kumar and Legislative Affairs Minister Sridhar Babu held discussions with legal experts.
According to the Anti-Defection Act, the decision on MLAs is entirely within the Speaker’s jurisdiction, Assembly sources say. However, it is reported that the Speaker has decided to respect the Supreme Court’s verdict and conduct an inquiry into the BRS complaints. As part of this, it seems that notices have been issued to five MLAs.
However, it seems that the specified time for the inquiry has not been mentioned in the notices. In this context, will Speaker Prasad Kumar complete the inquiry against ten MLAs within the time specified by the Supreme Court and announce the decision? Or will it be pending? It has become a matter of debate.
On the other hand, several MLAs facing defection allegations have announced on several occasions that they are continuing in BRS. In the records of the Legislative Assembly, all 10 MLAs are BRS MLAs. However, former minister Danam Nagender contested the last Lok Sabha elections as a Congress candidate from Secunderabad. In this context, it has become interesting to see what decision the Speaker will take on Danam Nagender and others?