On Tuesday, Dr. V. Narasimha Charyulu, the Telangana state assembly secretary, sent notices to 10 lawmakers from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) who joined the Congress party last year. This action came because the BRS filed complaints asking to disqualify these MLAs for breaking the anti-defection law.
The lawmakers were requested to explain why they switched to Congress. An official stated that the MLAs who received the notices are currently seeking more time to reply. The defectors include prominent leaders from various regions, such as Pocharam Srinivas Reddy from Banswada and Kadiyam Srihari from Station Ghanpur.
One of the defected MLAs, Danam Nagender, claimed he hadn’t received his notice yet but was ready to respond appropriately. Tellam Venkat Rao, another MLA, confirmed he got the notice and said he would consult his lawyers before replying.
Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy mentioned that this is a normal process and the speaker will make the final decision. The notices come after the Supreme Court instructed the assembly secretary to consider how much time he needs to handle the disqualification petitions.
In a previous ruling, the Telangana High Court directed that a hearing be held within four weeks regarding these petitions. The Supreme Court is now involved, asking the assembly secretary to specify a “reasonable period” for resolving these cases.
K.T. Rama Rao, a leader in the BRS, welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision and believes the Congress party can’t defend these defectors anymore, hinting at upcoming by-elections.
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