Accept Pocharam Resignation: TRS

Telangana Rashtra Samithi Floor Leader in the state Assembly Etala Rajender on Friday saw a "conspiracy" behind the delay in accepting the resignation of Telugu Desam Party MLA from Banswada Pocharam Srinivas by Deputy Speaker Nadendla Manohar.

Rajender told media persons at the Gandhi statue on the Assembly premises that he suspects that Manohar has colluded with Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu and was deliberately not accepting Srinivas' resignation.

He was speaking at the side of the Banswada MLA, who was staging a "sit-in" dharna to press for the acceptance of his resignation. Rajender said that Manohar should accept Srinivas' resignation if he has any respect for democratic principles.

The TRS MLA went a step further and alleged that the Deputy Speaker was not accepting the resignation as this was part of the "match-fixing" between the TDP and the Congress which has been going on since the Legislative Council elections.

Rajender pointed out that while the resignations of the TRS MLAs were accepted within ten hours of their submission, the Deputy Speaker was showing "discrimination" against Srinivas by not accepting his resignation.

"Why is he (the Deputy Speaker) not accepting the resignation? What is the reason for the delay? Is it because the Deputy Speaker, acting on the wishes of the TDP, is afraid that the by-elections would see Pocharam Srinivas recapture the seat on the TRS ticket?" Rajender questioned.

He said the Telangana people will give a fitting lesson to those who cheated people in the name of Telangana in the by-elections.

Earlier, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi MLAs met Deputy Speaker Nadendla Manohar at his chambers and demanded that he accept Srinivas' resignation.

This was after the Deputy Speaker had not yet clarified if he was accepting the resignation of the TDP MLA who had quit the party to join hands with the pro-Telangana outfits. He had later made it clear that he would be joining the TRS.