Disqualified Cong MLAs Thank Speaker

Congress MLAs of the Y S Jagan group, on Saturday, thanked Speaker Nadendla Manohar for disqualifying them from the state Legislative Assembly under the Anti-Defection Act.

Talking to media persons after emerging from a meeting with YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy at Lotus Pond, 5 disqualified MLAs - Srinivasulu (Railway Koduru), Srikanth Reddy (Rayachoti), Chennakesava Reddy (Yemmiganur), P Ramakrishna Reddy (Macherla) and Sucharitha (Pattipadu) - said that they were ready to face the by-elections.

They said they would explain to the people about the circumstances that had forced them to revolt against the Congress to join the YSR Congress.

Sucharita said that the disqualified MLAs were fully confident of winning the by-elections with a huge majority. She claimed that the YSR Congress would teach a fitting lesson to both the ruling Congress and the Opposition, the Telugu Desam Party.

She said that the MLAs were "relieved" after the Speaker's decision.

"Now we can openly express our loyalty and support to former chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy," she said.

"Even while voting in favour of the No-Confidence Motion, we were fully conscious that our action would invite disqualification from the Speaker, and we were waiting for his decision," she said.

Accusing the Congress and the Telugu Desam party of having a secret pact to defeat the YSR Congress, the MLAs said, "Our aim is to ensure that Jagan becomes Chief Minister in the 2014 elections, and we will make sincere efforts to achieve our goal," she said.

The MLAs said that the YSR Congress party would not have tie-ups with any other party in the by-elections, and that it would go to the election campaign with the farmers' agenda.

Parakala MLA Konda Surekha expressed confidence that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi would not field a candidate in the by-election as she had resigned for the cause of Telangana statehood following the directions of the JAC. She hoped that the TRS and JAC would support her in the by-elections. (INN)