BRS slams Telangana Assembly Speaker’s decision on defection pleas, vows Supreme Court battle

Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLAs K Sanjay and KP Vivekananda on Wednesday strongly criticised Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar for rejecting the disqualification petitions against the allegedly defected five MLAs.

‘Speaker not acting impartially, has taken a political stand’

The duo alleged that the Speaker failed to act impartially while discharging his duties as a tribunal head. They accused the Speaker of delivering the verdict in line with the political stand taken by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who had openly defended defections on the floor of the House.

Speaking to the media at the Assembly premises along with Korutla MLA Kalvakuntla Sanjay, Vivekananda said the ruling had made a ‘mockery of democracy’ and announced that BRS would challenge the Speaker’s decision before the Supreme Court.

‘Verdict matches CM’s stand’

Vivekananda recalled that CM Revanth had publicly justified defections in the Assembly and alleged that the Speaker’s ruling was in tune with the Chief Minister’s remarks.

“The people are laughing at this verdict. Everyone knows that the defected MLAs are openly working for the Congress,” he said.

He claimed that the MLAs in question had actively campaigned for the Congress during recent Gram Panchayat elections and that their photographs appeared on Congress flex boards and posters.

‘What about the other 5 MLAs?’

The BRS MLA pointed out that while the Speaker delivered a verdict only on five MLAs, there was no clarity on the remaining five disqualification petitions.

“When we asked about the other five MLAs, there was no response from the Speaker,” he said.

Vivekananda alleged that notices issued to Kadiyam Srihari and Danam Nagender had gone unanswered, yet no decision was taken against them. “The Speaker has conveniently avoided taking a stand on these cases,” he added.

‘Speaker hurried decision just to placate Supreme Court’

Accusing the Speaker of acting under pressure, Vivekananda said the verdict appeared to have been delivered only because the Supreme Court had issued strong warnings against further delay.

“The apex court clearly cautioned that if the inquiry was prolonged, strict action would follow. With the deadline ending tomorrow, this hurried verdict was pronounced,” he alleged.

Demand for Judgment copy

Vivekananda demanded that the certified copy of the judgment be immediately provided, as mandated under Assembly Rules.

He expressed doubts over whether the judgment had even been properly drafted. “The Speaker said the order would be uploaded on the website, but we are unsure if a detailed judgment actually exists,” he remarked.

‘Contradictory claims confuse public’

Highlighting contradictions within the ruling dispensation, Vivekananda said the defected MLAs themselves were claiming to be part of the Congress, while the Chief Minister maintained that all 10 MLAs still belonged to the BRS.

“With such conflicting claims, how will these MLAs face the people?” he asked.

Legal battle ahead

Stating that the Speaker’s decision was the result of sustained pressure from BRS, Vivekananda asserted that the party would continue its legal fight.

“The Speaker’s office is bringing embarrassment to itself before the Supreme Court. Our struggle against defections will continue through judicial means,” he said.

‘This is not saving the Constitution’

Taking a dig at Congress's public efforts to speak on the importance of the Constitution, former minister and BRS Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao said that the Speaker’s ruling on MLAs exposes the lies behind Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Save the Constitution’ slogan.

“This is not saving the Constitution but politically manipulating and undermining it by CM Revanth and his government,” he said.

Preaching constitutional morality in Delhi while violating it in Telangana is the real face of Congress and Rahul Gandhi, he said.