Telangana Assembly serves notices to BRS MLAs defected to Congress

Hyderabad: In a major development, Telangana Assembly Secretary Narasimha Charyulu on Tuesday served notices to the BRS MLAs who switched their loyalties to the ruling Congress.

A total of ten MLAs have joined the Congress party, they include Kadiyam Srihari, Danam Nagender, Kale Yadayya, Prakash Goud, Gudem Mahipal Reddy, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Tellam Venkata Rao, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, Arikepudi Gandhi, and Sanjay Kumar.

The notices were served to the MLAs based on disqualification petitions filed by the BRS and asked them to give their explanation in writing. However, the MLAs have reportedly sought time to respond after consulting legal experts.

It is known that the BRS approached the Supreme Court to disqualify the MLAs who switched parties after the defeat in the Assembly elections in 2023. The Telangana High Court had earlier ordered action to be taken against MLAs who defected to the party within four months.

However, as there was no progress, the BRS party approached the Supreme Court. The petition stated that even after nine months of complaints against 10 MLAs, the Speaker had not taken a decision. A Special Leave Petitions (SLP) was filed against Kadiam Srihari, Tellam Venkatarao and Danam Nagender, while a writ petition was filed against the remaining seven MLAs.

The BRS said that even after six months after the High Court verdict, Telangana Legislative Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar had not taken action and not even a notice was served to the MLAs. The Opposition party also referred to the judgment pronounced in the case of Kesha Megha Chandra and sought the Speaker to implement it.

Meanwhile, the BRS approached the Supreme Court to disqualify another seven MLAs. But the Supreme Court postponed the hearing of this case to February 10, stating that all these will be investigated simultaneously. On the other hand, while the trial is going on in court, the BRS has also asked Telangana Assembly to disqualify the MLAs who have changed parties.

In response, the Speaker issued notices to the defecting MLAs. Defected BRS MLAs Tellam Venkata Rao (Bhadrachalam), M Sanjay Kumar (Jagital), and others have confirmed receipt of the notifications and stated that they will react after seeking legal advice.

Notices to 10 turncoat MLAs given as per procedure: CM Revanth

In response to the Assembly Speaker's notifications to ten turncoat MLAs, the chief minister stated that they were issued in accordance with process and refused to speak further, claiming prejudice.