Hyderabad: All India Congress Committee spokesperson Dr Dasoju Sravan on Tuesday demanded the Telangana legislative assembly speaker Pocharam Srinivas Redddy to take action and disqualify the Congress members of legislative assembly (MLAs) who defected to Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) few years ago.
In a press briefing, Sravan said that the defections brazenly violate constitutional laws and disregard democratic traditions. He cited the Calcutta high court’s direction to West Bengal’s assembly speaker on tuesday to decide on the disqualification petition against Mukul Roy, who defected from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Terming the Calcutta HC’s decision as a slap on the face of Telangana Assembly Speaker, Dasoju Sravan expressed hope that the speaker will at least now act on the Congress MLAs who defected to ruling TRS, taking a cue from West Bengal developments.
“Calcutta High Court directed West Bengal Assembly Speaker to decide on the disqualification petition against Mukul Roy, who defected from BJP to Trinamool Congress by October 7. This should be an eye opener for Telangana Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy who has been intentionally turning a blind eye to the disqualification petitions against Congress MLAs who defected to ruling TRS,” he stated.
Further he added that it is unfortunate that chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao has been blatantly encouraging defections and Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, who is in a highly revered constitutional post, has been acting hand in glove with KCR, in pursuing the immoral and dirty act of political defections in Telangana.
“Telangana Assembly Speaker should at least now take a look at Calcutta High Court’s direction and decide on disqualification petitions against Congress MLAs pending here in Telangana,” said AICC spokesperson Dr Dasoju Sravan in a media statement on Tuesday.
About 12 MLAs who won on Congress party tickets in 2018 General Elections have defected to ruling TRS in Telangana. The grand old party had won 19 seats out of 119 in the state polls, while the ruling TRS won 88. Sravan said that though Congress has been fighting against these defections and raising its voice against the “immoral political practices” of the TRS, the Telangana Assembly speaker has not taken any action against the MLAs.