Rs 5,000 monthly contribution to BRS shows no defection by MLAs: Telangana Speaker

Hyderabad: Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar said that he has rejected disqualification petitions against five BRS MLAs, accused of defecting to the ruling Congress, because of their continued financial contributions to the party.

He also said the absence of formal action by the BRS leadership negates allegations of defection.

The Speaker delivered the ruling on December 17 while disposing of petitions filed against five of the 10 Bharat Rashtra Samithi legislators whose loyalty was questioned after the Congress came to power.

Party fund contributions weaken defection charge

A central pillar of the Speaker’s reasoning was the uninterrupted payment of monthly party maintenance contributions by the MLAs concerned.

In his order, Prasad Kumar noted that the legislators continued to pay Rs 5,000 per month towards the BRS Legislative Party Fund until March 5, and that the party accepted these payments without objection.

“To argue that such payments do not amount to contributions to the party itself is wholly untenable and absurd,” the Speaker observed, stating that continued financial association is inconsistent with claims of defection.

No threat to government stability

The Speaker further ruled that the alleged defection of 10 MLAs from the BRS, which has a strength of 38 members, had no bearing on the survival or stability of the Congress government.

He pointed out that the ruling party already commands the support of 64 legislators and that its continuation in power was never dependent on the support of the MLAs facing disqualification petitions.

Absence of disciplinary action by BRS

Another key factor highlighted in the ruling was the BRS leadership’s failure to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the MLAs.

The Speaker noted that no notices were issued, nor was any action taken against the legislators for alleged anti-party conduct or absence. The petitioners, he added, did not produce any document to show that the BRS officially treated the MLAs’ conduct as defection under party rules.

‘KTR counted 10 MLAs among 38 BRS legislators'

The order also referred to a statement made by BRS Working President KT Rama Rao on the Assembly floor, where he said the party had 38 MLAs, implicitly counting the allegedly defected members as part of the opposition.

While petitioners claimed that one MLA sitting ‘in a different row’ symbolised defection, the Speaker ruled that such symbolism has no legal standing, particularly when the petitioners failed to submit the party constitution or any clause defining ‘anti-party activity.’

BRS is ready to challenge decision in court

Reacting to the controversy, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said the Congress could not respond politically to a decision taken by the Speaker in his constitutional capacity. He added that the BRS was free to challenge the ruling before the courts.

BRS Working President KT Rama Rao, however, termed the decision a ‘cruel joke on democracy’ and accused the Speaker of acting at the behest of the Chief Minister. He announced that the party would challenge the order in a court of law.