- Eight legislators submit written replies to Speaker on disqualification notices
- MLAs insist meetings with CM were for development work, not political defection
Telangana MLAs | Hyderabad: Eight MLAs who recently received defection notices have told the Telangana Legislative Assembly Speaker that they have not changed their party and continue to remain with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
Their written explanations were submitted in response to notices issued after the Supreme Court directed the Speaker to decide within three months on a petition seeking their disqualification.
The petitioners, also BRS legislators, had approached the Supreme Court alleging that these MLAs won elections on BRS tickets but subsequently aligned with the Congress.
Acting on the court’s direction, Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar sought clarifications from the 10 MLAs named in the complaint.
Out of these, eight: Bandla Krishnamohan Reddy (Gadwala), Arekapudi Gandhi (Serilingampalli), Sanjay (Jagityala), Gudem Mahipal Reddy (Patancheru), Pocharam Srinivas Reddy (Banswada), Prakash Goud (Rajendranagar), Kale Yadayya (Chevella), and Tellam Venkat Rao (Bhadrachalam), submitted written replies.
However, Kadiyam Srihari (Station Ghanpur) and Danam Nagender (Khairatabad) have requested more time to respond.
Telangana MLAs
In their statements, the eight MLAs uniformly maintained that they had not defected. They argued that they had not resigned from BRS, had not spoken against the party, and continued to uphold its principles.
Several MLAs cited legal precedents to support their stance. They explained that their meetings with the Chief Minister were solely for constituency development.
Addressing allegations that they had accepted Congress affiliation, they clarified that covering the CM’s headscarf was a matter of courtesy, not a political gesture, and emphasized that it was “not a Congress party headscarf.”
Gadwal MLA Bandla Krishnamohan Reddy’s explanation highlighted his continued allegiance: “I still work in accordance with the principles of Bharat Rashtra Samithi. There is a photo of KCR in my house and office. My Twitter handle also has Bharat Rashtra Samithi.
Telangana MLAs | Congress party
If some people put up flexi in the constituency as if I have joined the Congress party, I have filed a legal complaint against them. During the assembly meetings, I met Bharat Rashtra Samithi executive president KTR and told him that I have not changed the party. I am attaching a copy of the relevant complaint and a photo of me meeting KTR.”
Following procedure, Speaker Prasad Kumar has forwarded the MLAs’ explanations to the complainant legislators, giving them three days to submit objections. The responses were matched to the complainants: for instance, Bandla Krishnamohan Reddy’s reply was sent to Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, while the explanations of Arekapudi Gandhi and Prakash Goud were sent to Dr. Kalvakuntla Sanjay.
The BRS legal cell is currently reviewing the documents, along with supporting materials such as photos, videos, and news reports.
Party sources indicated that the BRS will prepare comprehensive objections by September 13. Once the remaining replies are received, including those from Srihari and Nagender, the Speaker is expected to continue the process of adjudicating the defection case in line with the Supreme Court’s directive.
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