Speaker Seeks 2-Month Extension On Defection Cases

Telangana Legislative Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar has sought a two-month extension from the Supreme Court in connection with the disqualification proceedings against ten MLAs of the BRS, who are accused of defecting to the Congress after the 2023 Assembly elections.

The BRS had approached the Supreme Court seeking disqualification of these legislators. In response, the court directed the Speaker to dispose of the petitions within three months from July 31, the date of its order. The deadline for compliance expired on October 31.

Although hearings were scheduled to continue on Friday, the Speaker has now sought an additional two months to complete the proceedings.

In line with the court's directives, the Speaker issued notices to all the ten defecting MLAs. Of them, eight have submitted affidavits, while two - Danam Nagender (Khairatabad) and Kadiyam Srihari (Station Ghanpur) - have sought more time to respond.

The cross-examination of four MLAs - Bandla Krishnamohan Reddy (Jogulamba Gadwal), Gudem Mahipal Reddy (Patancheru), Kale Yadaiah (Chevella) and T Prakash Goud (Rajendranagar) - began on September 29. During questioning, they claimed to be having only a technical affiliation with the BRS, and said that they had approached Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for assistance in developing their constituencies.

Meanwhile, hearings for six other MLAs - Danam Nagender, Kadiyam Srihari, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy (Banswada), A Gandhi (Serilingampally), T Venkat Rao (Bhadrachalam) and Sanjay (Jagtial) - are still pending.

In this context, the Speaker has sought two more months from the Supreme Court to conclude the proceedings.

Notably, on October 23, during a party event in Banswada, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy publicly acknowledged contesting and winning the election on the BRS symbol.