In a shrewd move, Allagadda MLA Sobha Nagireddy on Tuesday submitted her resignation to put an end to the debate of whether or not she must oblige with the whip issued by the PRP.
The resignation comes close on the heels of
Congress rebels meeting the Speaker to expedite their disqualification. And it now seems that the YSR Congress has moved into election mode.
Sobha submitted her resignation to Assembly Secretary S Raja Sadaram, and described her move as an attempt to "uphold the dignity of the House and its moral values".
When Speaker Nadendla Manohar sent her a notice to disqualify her for defying the party whip during the recent No Confidence Motion, she
questioned the very existence of the PRP.
Since the PRP merged with the Congress, there was no such party, and a whip cannot be issued by Chiranjeevi, she contended.
The Speaker asked her to submit her explanation on the issue by 27 December. Keeping with the deadline, she put in her papers to put further debate at rest.
Talking to the media after submitting her resignation, she said that she had tendered her resignation to "stick to moral values".
"I voted in favour of the No Confidence Motion moved by the TDP to protect the interests of farmers, as the Kiran Kumar Reddy has government totally failed in the farmers' issue," she said.
Stating that the PRP has no right to issue a whip, she accused K Chiranjeevi of merging the party with the Congress to protect his selfish interests.
Shobha said she was not afraid of the by-elections, and challenged legislators who were elected on the PRP ticket to resign and contest on the Congress ticket.
Sobha informed both the Speaker and the Election Commission of India that she would remain independent and would not merge with the Congress party. (INN)