Hyderabad, January 14: It seems the TDP is in no hurry to move a no-confidence motion against the Kiran Kumar Reddy government even though it has been calling it a “minority government” following former Kadapa MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s Jala Deeksha in Delhi where he paraded 24 Congress MLAs.
TDP senior leaders T Devender Goud and Yanamala Ramakrishnudu on Thursday hinted that the party had no plans to give jitters to the government, at least in the near future.
“We expect a strong government in office to solve farmers’ issues and other problems,” Ramakrishnudu said. Interestingly, he differed with his party colleague P Keshav who had urged Deputy Speaker Nadendla Manohar to disqualify rebel MLA N Prasanna Kumar Reddy for openly siding with Jagan.
“Deputy Speaker has no power to apply the Anti-Defection Law against an MLA,” he pointed out, adding only Speaker had such powers. In other words, by the same logic, the 24 Congress rebel MLAs cannot be disqualified.
Further rubbing it in, Ramakrishnudu said the government was not even in a position to have its own Speaker in the Assembly. He also clarified that the TDP was not in favour of President’s rule in the State.
“It may be a Congress ploy to spread rumours about President’s rule in order to keep its flock together,” he opined.
Devender Goud too echoed the same views. “The TDP knows fully well what to do and at what time,” he said. Referring to the TRS taunts that the TDP should move a notrust vote, the party senior leader fumed, “TRS cannot dictate to us. The TDP is not answerable to the TRS.”
The reasons for the TDP’s unwillingness to move a notrust motion are not far to seek. The party’s strategy seems to be to wait and watch how the Congress responds to Jagan’s challenge will it act against its 24 MLAs who are moving with Jagan and push its own government into a crisis or turn a blind eye to be in power.
–Agencies