BRS gains upper hand as defected MLAs pushed into legal arena

The Telangana Assembly Speaker’s decision rejecting disqualification petitions against defected MLAs has shifted the battle from the Assembly to the courts. While offering temporary relief, the ruling has pushed the MLAs into legal scrutiny, giving the BRS a strategic advantage

Hyderabad: Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad’s decision dismissing the disqualification petitions against defected MLAs has turned the tables. On the surface, it may be a relief for the turncoat MLAs. However, it has landed them in deeper trouble, while handing the BRS an unexpected strategic victory.

The Speaker rejected petitions against five MLAs, including Gudem Mahipal Reddy, T Prakash Goud, Tellam Venkat Rao, Bandla Krishnamohan Reddy and Arekapudi Gandhi, citing lack of conclusive evidence. The fate of three others is expected to be finalised in a couple of weeks, while two more MLAs, Kadiyam Srihari and Danam Nagender, are yet to face proceedings.

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What is crucial is the context in which the ruling came. The decision was delivered under intense pressure from the Supreme Court, which repeatedly almost pulled up the Speaker for inordinate delay and warned of contempt. With deadlines closing in and judicial observations hanging over him, the Speaker was compelled to deliver his decision to avoid personal consequences, effectively bringing his role to an end.

By doing so, the Speaker has washed his hands of the matter. The discretionary shield that protected the defected MLAs within the Speaker’s domain has now vanished. The ball has decisively moved out of the Assembly and into the courts.

This is precisely where the BRS strategy appears to have worked in its favour. “The BRS leadership is aware that the Speaker’s decision might not be in its favour, but by pushing relentlessly for a ruling, the party ensured that the Speaker’s discretion is exhausted. From hereafter, the defected MLAs will have to defend themselves in the High Court and even the Supreme Court. Unlike proceedings before the Speaker, judicial scrutiny offers little room for procedural delay, selective interpretation or political convenience, putting the defected MLAs on the defensive,” one of the petitioner MLAs told Telangana Today.

He pointed out that the Speaker’s claim of lack of evidence and the turncoat MLAs’ claim of not defecting might not hold strong in the courts. The BRS has already placed voluminous material, including photographs, public statements, participation in Congress programmes, attendance at Congress meetings and visible alignment on the Assembly floor. These are matters of public record and judicially testable facts.

“The same evidence has prompted the Supreme Court to ask the Speaker to decide on the petitions. The courts will now examine whether political defection can be denied despite such overt conduct,” he added.

For the defected MLAs, the prolonged comfort of procedural delay is over as court appearances, legal scrutiny and binding timelines now await them. For the BRS, the Speaker’s dismissal is not a setback but a tactical breakthrough, ensuring that the final word will come from the courts. What was once a political waiting game has turned into a legal battle where the defected MLAs, not the opposition, now face the real test.