'Open Attack On Democracy': KTR On Speaker's Clean Chit To Defectors

(MENAFN- IANS) Hyderabad, March 11 (IANS) Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao on Wednesday termed Telangana Assembly Speaker’s clean chit to MLAs Danam Nagender and Kadiyam Srihari in the anti-defection case as an open attack on democracy.

He took to ‘X’ to react strongly to Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar dismissing petitions for disqualification of Nagender and Srihari, who were elected to Assembly on BRS tickets in 2023 but later defected to the ruling Congress party.

Rama Rao criticised the Speaker for giving clean chit to Nagender, who contested for Lok Sabha on Congress party’s symbol in 2024 by disrespecting the people’s verdict.

The BRS leader said that the Speaker’s decision will encourage defections and termed it a dark day in democratic history.

“This is not a judgment. This is an example of how Constitutional system is used to favour those in power. If elected positions won with the people’s votes are changed for personal gains, and the Speaker gives his stamp of approval for it where do democratic values stand,” he asked.

“Such decisions erode people’s trust. The people of Telangana are watching everything. They will give the answer at the right time,” KTR added.

Earlier, pronouncing the orders on the petitions for the disqualification of Kadiyam Srihari and Danam Nagender, the Speaker said the petitioners have failed to provide evidence that the two MLAs defected to the Congress party.

The Speaker had last week completed hearing on the petitions filed by BRS MLA Kaushik Reddy and BJP MLA Maheshwar Reddy for the disqualification of Nagender and the petition filed by BRS MLA K. P. Vivekanand for the disqualification of Srihari.

With this the Speaker has dismissed petitions for disqualification of all 10 BRS MLAs who had switched loyalties to Congress in 2024, a few months after Congress came to power in the state.

In December 2025, he dismissed the petitions for the disqualification of five MLAs – Tellam Venkat Rao, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, T. Prakash Goud, Gudem Mahipal Reddy, and Arekapudi Gandhi.

He dismissed the petitions for the disqualification of Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Kale Yadaiah on January 15.

On February 4, the Speaker dismissed the petition for the disqualification of BRS MLA Sanjay Kumar.

In all the cases, the Speaker ruled that the petitioners failed to provide evidence that the MLAs defected to the Congress, making it clear that the Anti-Defection Act could not be applied.

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