Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar today dismissed the disqualification petitions filed by the BRS against Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender and Station Ghanpur MLA Kadiyam Srihari.
The Speaker said that there was no evidence to suggest that they had changed parties, and announced that based on the statements given by Nagender and Srihari both of them continued to belong to the BRS.
Nagender and Srihari had won the 2023 Assembly elections as BRS candidates. Subsequently, they joined the Congress in full public glare -
Nagender on March 17 and
Srihari on March 31, of 2024. It is not clear if or how the Speaker missed those.
Petitions were filed by the BRS and the BJP seeking their disqualification from the Legislative Assembly, alleging that they were acting against the provisions of the anti-defection law. The Speaker took up the matter, and during the hearing, Nagender and Srihari said that they were still members of the BRS and had not changed parties.
Taking their statements into consideration, the Speaker declared that both of them remained BRS MLAs and dismissed the disqualification petitions.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the issue concerning the alleged defections of MLAs on Thursday. The apex court, which has already heard the case several times, had earlier suggested that the Speaker announce his decision before the matter came up for hearing again. Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar delivered his verdict accordingly.